Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Apr;110(4):592-608.
doi: 10.1037/pspp0000060. Epub 2015 Jul 13.

The development of global and domain-specific self-esteem from age 13 to 31

Affiliations

The development of global and domain-specific self-esteem from age 13 to 31

Tilmann von Soest et al. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

This study examines the development of global self-esteem and self-esteem in 6 specific domains across adolescence and young adulthood. Using a cohort-sequential design, we analyzed longitudinal data on 3,116 Norwegian men and women from 13 to 31 years of age by means of growth curve modeling. Questionnaire data provided information on global self-esteem and self-esteem in social, academic, athletic, and appearance domains. Data on important life outcomes was provided by register linkages. Results showed increasing levels of global self-esteem and self-esteem in most domains with increasing age. Being male, higher parental education, and reported higher levels of parental care were related to higher levels of global self-esteem and self-esteem in several domains. Self-esteem in the appearance domain showed high and stable correlations with global self-esteem, whereas in social domains, correlations with global self-esteem increased over age, with a particularly steep increase for romantic appeal self-esteem. As to the prospective relationship between self-esteem and important life outcomes, results showed that participants high in academic self-esteem attained higher education levels and higher income, but most of the relationship was explained by covariates such as parents' socioeconomic status and school grades. Low global self-esteem predicted later prescription of antidepressants, even after controlling for covariates. This study is the first to provide a comprehensive picture of the development of global and domain-specific self-esteem throughout adolescence and young adulthood using long-term longitudinal data. The results underscore the importance of examining development of self-esteem in specific domains in addition to global self-esteem.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by