Journal of Education & Social Policy

Possible selves and self-esteem in uncertain times
Angeliki Leondari, Vasilios Gialamas, Marilena Giannakou

Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate young people’s possible selves in the context of a socio-economic crisis. Based on the idea that the formation of possible selves depends on the contextual characteristics of the immediate microsystem and the wider macrosystem, it was expected that the experience of uncertainty caused by the economic crisis would have an impact on their formation. The study also aimed to investigate whether self-esteem level and self-esteem stability correlate with the subjective probability of materializing one’s hopes and fears, as well as with the elaborated notions of possible selves. Participants were 236 young adults, aged 18-35. The results show that the most salient hoped-for selves were related to career and health. High self-esteem participants were more likely to report specific possible selves, both hoped and feared. Similarly, participants with high self-esteem reported higher probability of realizing their hoped-for and avoiding their feared selves.

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