Sex and money rank behind self-esteem.

• Position: Psychology - Brief article

Young people may crave boosts to their self-esteem a little too much, maintains a study from Ohio Slate University, Columbus, and Brookhaven (N.Y.) National Laboratory. Researchers found that college students value boosts to their self-esteem more than any other pleasant activity they were asked about, including sex, favorite foods, drinking alcohol, seeing a best friend, or receiving a paycheck.

"It is somewhat surprising how this desire to feel worthy and valuable trumps almost any other pleasant activity you can imagine," muses Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology.

He notes there is nothing wrong with a healthy sense of self-esteem, but the results of this study suggest many young people may be a little too focused on pumping it up. Here is why: for all the pleasant activities examined, participants were asked to rate how much they liked the activity and how much they wanted it. Both questions were included because research suggests that addicts tend to report they "want" the object of their addiction (drugs, alcohol, gambling) more than they actually "like" it.

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