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Related Experiment Videos

Global self-esteem across the life span.

Richard W Robins1, Kali H Trzesniewski, Jessica L Tracy

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis 95616-8686, USA. rwrobins@ucdavis.edu

Psychology and Aging
|September 24, 2002
PubMed
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Self-esteem is high in childhood, drops in adolescence, rises through adulthood, and sharply declines in old age. This age-related trajectory in self-esteem is consistent across diverse demographic groups.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychology

Background:

  • Self-esteem is a crucial psychological construct influencing well-being.
  • Previous research on age differences in self-esteem has yielded inconsistent findings.
  • Understanding the developmental trajectory of self-esteem across the lifespan is important.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive analysis of age-related changes in self-esteem.
  • To examine self-esteem trajectories from childhood to old age.
  • To investigate demographic moderators of self-esteem development.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a large-scale, cross-sectional online dataset.
  • Included 326,641 participants spanning ages 9 to 90 years.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzed self-esteem levels across various demographic factors.

    • Main Results:

    • Self-esteem peaked in childhood, decreased during adolescence, and gradually increased through adulthood.
    • A sharp decline in self-esteem was observed in old age.
    • The identified self-esteem trajectory remained consistent across gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and nationality.

    Conclusions:

    • The study confirms and extends previous research on self-esteem development across the lifespan.
    • Findings clarify inconsistencies in the existing literature regarding age and self-esteem.
    • New trends in self-esteem trajectories warrant further investigation.