Psychological Studies 1985, Vol. 30, No. 2 A FACTOR ANALYTICAL STUDY ON THE ANTECEDENTS OF SELF-ESTEEM IMMANUEL THOMAS & H. SAM SANANDA RAJ University of Kerala, Trivandrum. A factorial study on the antecedent variables of self-esteem was conducted on a stratified sample of 624 secondary school pupils (314 boys and 310 girls) of Kerala state. The variables used for the study were: socioeconomic status, parental attitude, home environment, home relations, acceptance-rejection, dependence-independence, autocracy-democracy, mutual trust and approval, and self-esteem. The data were analyzed using Pearson r, followed by factor analysis. The results of factor analysis of the 9 X 9 correlation matrix revealed three significant factors, viz., 'Family Harmony', 'Physical Facility', and 'Parenting Practices'. Self-esteem loaded significantly on all the three factors. Self-esteem - the characteristic ways of self-evaluation and the resulting feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction-has been shown to be an important determinant of behaviour in recent researches. It has been a variable of interest in such diverse areas as adjustment and mental health (Rosen et al., 1982; Zemore and Brettell, 1983), motivation (Tessler and Schwartz, 1972) and academic achievement (Bachman and O'Malley, 1977; Thomas and Sanandaraj 1982). As such, the development and maintenance of self esteem is of high sig - nificance for the individual This calls for an understanding of toe antecedents of self-esteem and of the different varia - bles associated with its development. Several studies intended to reveal the antecedents of self-esteem had been con- ducted in western countries (e.g. Rosen- berg, 1965; Coopersmith, 1967; Soavedra, 1977). But, one cannot be sure of the gene- ralizability of the findings of these studies in a culturally different country It has been generally accepted that non-congni- tive personality traits are, to a large extent. Reprint request to Dr Sam S. Raj, Depart - ment of Psychology, University of Kerala, Trivandrum-695581. moulded in the social and cultural milieu based on particular norms and values. This is especially true about one's self- esteem. The extent of research in the area of self- esteem has been limited to the linear relationship of self-esteem to a few other variables considered one at a time. Multi- variate designs, with a view to bringing out the inter-relationships of the different correlated variables will help in throwing additional light on the area. The present investigation is a factor analytical study of the antecedent variables of self-esteem in a population drawn from Kerala state in India; this is a pioneering study in the area. HYPOTHESIS The following hypothesis has been for- mulated for the study: factor analysis of the correlation matrix of self-esteem and the selected antecedent variables will yield factors characterized by significant load- ings on self-esteem and the other variables. METHOD Sample The sample for the study comprised of 624 secondary school students (314 boys