Emerging adulthood brings concerns about sense of self and belonging to the forefront, a period during which many young adults experience loneliness and mental health challenges. Self-esteem, or one’s evaluation of self-worth, may both predict and/or be predicted by loneliness, though longitudinal research is needed to disentangle the nature of these associations. Therefore, the link between loneliness and self-esteem was examined while considering the moderating role of emotion regulation difficulties. Participants (N = 1,217, Mage = 18.14, 71% female-identifying) completed a survey at three timepoints over one year. Randomintercept cross-lagged panel modelling indicated a bidirectional within-person association between increases in loneliness and decreases i n self-esteem. Emotion regulation difficulties did not moderate the association, though it was associated with both loneliness and self-esteem. These findings suggest that during emerging adulthood, loneliness may hinder self-esteem which is likely to lead to further loneliness. Keywords loneliness, self-esteem, emotion regulation, emerging adulthood Emerging adulthood involves shifts in social networks (e.g., leaving home to attend college) that not only create opportunities for new social connections but also increase risks for social isolation and loneliness (Arnett et al., 2014). Loneliness has become increasingly prevalent among emerging adults (aged 18-25 years) (Buecker et al., 2021), with rates comparable to
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