The self‐esteem of women: A cognitive‐phenomenological study

Abstract Social workers address self‐esteem concerns of female clients without benefit of adequate theory—theory which is phenomenologically derived, prescriptive in nature, and readily transferable to clinical settings. This article reports findings from a cognitive‐phenomenological study in which 16 women provided detailed accounts of their self‐esteem experiences during major life transitions. In‐depth interviewing and cognitive mapping procedures yielded a view of underlying cognitive self‐schemata against which respondents evaluated current perceptions of self. Discrepancies between ideal self‐concept and self‐perceptions produced cognitive dissonance, a major component of self‐esteem difficulties and a potential target of clinical intervention.