Higher neuroticism and lower mastery were both associated with an increased risk and more self esteem was associated with a lower risk of outcomes.
Previous studies have shown that higher levels of self-esteem are associated with better academic performance.
Research showed that high as well as stable self-esteem are associated with greater psychological well-being [ 20].
Our study replicated previous findings that higher self-esteem is associated with better physical health2,10,11,12,13,43.
Importantly, our study showed that self-esteem was associated with physical health through the hippocampus.
Next, we investigated the neural basis through which self-esteem was associated with physical health.
For example, in individualistic cultures such as the USA, having high self-esteem is associated with happiness.
Therefore, we hypothesized that the hippocampus might serve as the neural substrate through which self-esteem is associated with physical health.
In the CHR group, lower social support and lower self-esteem were associated with more severe positive, negative and depressive symptoms.
On the contrary, a high level of self-esteem is associated with positive feelings such as joy, pleasure, optimism, relaxation, and gratitude, which offer protection from stress and contribute to physical health3,8,9.
Our study not only reproduced the results that higher self-esteem was associated with better physical health, but also showed that the hippocampus mediated the link between self-esteem and physical health, suggesting its critical role in the neural circuit through which self-esteem is related to physical health.
