The Michigan Study of Adult Life Transitions (MSALT) is a longitudinal study, conducted by Eccles and her colleagues. Data collection for this study began in 1983 with a large sample of predominantly Caucasian, low- to middle-income fifth- and sixth-grade students who have now been followed into young adulthood. As with most of the other longitudinal studies described in this report, MSALT participants are not representative of the U.S. adolescent population. Nonetheless, the long-term longitudinal nature of the study, the large sample size, and the in-depth measures used make MSALT a rich source of high-quality data pertaining to adolescent development. In one report from this study, Lord, Eccles, and McCarthy (1994) found that greater levels of confidence in own academic, social, and athletic abilities in sixth grade were associated with increases in global self-esteem across three additional waves of data collected in sixth and seventh grades. These researchers found that the most salient predictors of positive self-esteem change were positive self-concepts of math ability, physical attractiveness, and peer social skill. In contrast, worries and self-consciousness about math, school deadlines, and social acceptance were the most salient predictors of declines in self-esteem.