The Nature of Self-Esteem in Women Experiencing Schadenfreude: A Qualitative Study

Schadenfreude is an emotional reaction that adversely affects social relationships. Self-esteem is a main factor affecting this reaction. The present study sought to identify the nature of self-esteem in women experiencing Schadenfreude using a qualitative and thematic analysis approach. The research population included women aged 20 to 35 living in Tehran in 2022. The participants were selected using purposive sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and saturated by 20 women. The main themes were personal perception, developmental experiences, and presenting factors affecting self-esteem, which included 15 subthemes. The participants’ self-perception about self-esteem revealed some definitions and misconceptions of self-esteem, which reflected low awareness of self-esteem, confirming the need for more training and awareness-raising interventions. Developmental experiences showed that the failure to satisfy some types of developmental needs in both childhood and adolescence might have a major impact on the formation of self-esteem in the participants. The data also showed that some factors may contribute to fluctuating the participants’ self-esteem.