Specific features of modern children’s and adolescents’ self-esteem

Abstract

. Personality changes are inextricably linked with the transformations taking place in the surrounding world. Self-esteem, as one of the basic psychological constructs of a person, also undergoes various transformations over time. In addition to the environment, factors which have an impact on self-esteem and self-attitude include age, gender and related gender roles. The views of scientists on the dynamics and characteristics of children’s and adolescents’ self-esteem are often contradictory. Furthermore, data on gender differences in self-attitude obtained from Russian samples are insufficient, since this issue is mainly studied by foreign researchers. The purpose of our study is, therefore, to assess the self-esteem of modern children and adolescents from the perspective of the gender-age approach. The study involved 97 children (46 girls, 51 boys) from Saint Petersburg. The respondents were divided into groups according to their age. The results of the empirical study have shown a significant age difference in self-esteem between primary school children and younger adolescents. No statistically significant difference between boys and girls was observed. By the end of adolescence, respondents exhibited an increase in self-esteem, self-confidence and self-worth. The level of aspirations remains high among all considered age groups. Modern adolescents demonstrate an average level of self-acceptance. It was not possible to identify any significant difference between the self-esteem of younger schoolchildren and younger adolescents. Thus, we can say that modern children’s and adolescents’ self-esteem differs depending on their age and is characterised by specific age-related features. The study also revealed noticeable contradictions in the data obtained with the help of different measuring instruments. Such contradictions may be caused both by the specifics of the methods and by the difference in the studied phenomena. Therefore, further research in this area is required.