@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp7171,
            	author={Favara, Marta},
            	title={Is Self-Esteem a "Double Edged Sword"? Self-Esteem and the Onset of Adolescent Sexual Activity},
            	year={2013},
	month={Jan},
            	institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)},
            	address={Bonn},
            	type={IZA Discussion Paper},
            	number={7171},
            	url={https://www.iza.org/publications/dp7171},
	abstract={Self-esteem has been conceptualized as a "social vaccine". The belief is that high self-esteem can inoculate young people, against vulnerability to a wide range of social illnesses. This study gives a contribution in the understanding of the causal relation between self-esteem and sexual behaviour among American adolescents. I analyzes the impact of different levels of early self-esteem on a wide set of risky sexual behaviours. I use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and I take into account the endogeneity of self-esteem using instrumental variables methods and measuring self-esteem before sexual initiation. I find that self-esteem over a certain threshold' is a protective resource for girls, delaying the onset of sexual activity, reducing the number of occasional sexual partners and increasing the likelihood of having protected sexual encounters.},
	keywords={self-esteem;adolescent's sexual behaviour;Add Health;instrumental variable model},
            }