Inconclusive evidence for within-individual increasing effects of income on self-esteem: A reanalysis and comment on Bleidorn et al. (2023)

In a recent study, researchers analyzed data from the Dutch Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (LISS, N > 4,000) with a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) and concluded that increases in self-esteem are a function of previous increases in income. However, our analyses of person-mean centered scores in the same sample revealed no within-individual increasing effects. Consequently, it appears premature to assume a within-individual increasing effect of income on self-esteem. It is important for researchers to be cognizant of potential bias in RI-CLPM and we advocate validation of identified effects through analyses of person-mean centered scores.