<![CDATA[Despite reports of reciprocal effects between students’ self-esteem and academic achievement, these relationships remain uncertain because concurrent trait reciprocal effects are omitted. Essentially, concurrent reciprocal trait and state effects are indispensable, as cross-lagged effects are weaker than concurrent effects. These effects crucially illustrate the dynamics of the self as posited in symbolic interactionism. To unravel all concurrent and cross-lagged effects, this study used structural equation modeling on panel survey data from 3,116 students who joined the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY) in the United States. They were 7th- to 12th-graders aged 11 to 18 during the study period. Among the graders, 48.0% were girls. Results revealed the significant contributions of self-esteem traits and states to academic achievement traits and states, but not vice versa. Specifically, concurrent contributions were stronger than lagged contributions. Notably, the lagged state contributions of self-esteem to academic achievement were weaker in the good-fit model incorporating trait effects than in the poor-fit model omitting trait effects. Results imply that self-esteem traits and states help elevate academic achievement, consistent with the central role of the self-concept emphasized in symbolic-interactionist theory. Notably, academic achievement is the product, not the cause, of self-esteem during adolescence.  ]]>
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