The data analyzed were from the Berlin Youth Longitudinal Study, which used a stratified random sampling procedure in selecting students from approximately 70 schools in West Berlin. Data were used from waves 2-4, which spanned 2 years. For the 1,234 adolescents participating at wave 2, complete longitudinal data were available for 980 for the interval between wave 2 and wave 3, and data were obtained for 867 for the interval between wave 3 and wave 4. Five developmental tasks derived from Havighurst (1972) and Dreher and Dreher (1984) were measured for the youth; namely, gaining autonomy from parents, building peer relationships, building an intimate heterosexual relationship, preparing for a future career, and developing an identity. The adolescents completed a questionnaire that measured discrepancies between their desired and actual states of development in each of these areas, as well as how they were attempting to change any discrepancy. A four-item scale was used to assess self-esteem. The study found that when developmental goals were held constant while efforts to reach those goals achieved some success, then self-esteem increased; however, when discrepancies were reduced by lowering aspirations, there was no systematic link with a change in self-esteem. An increase in goals was more likely to become a source of psychological distress. 2 tables, 2 figures, and 35 references