Gender differences in developmental pathways on self-evaluation from adolescence into adulthood: the Flanders...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Gender Studies
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Self-evaluation is a critical aspect of psychosocial development.
• Understanding gender-specific trajectories in self-evaluation is crucial for targeted interventions.
• Longitudinal studies are needed to track self-evaluation changes from adolescence to adulthood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential gender differences in self-evaluation stability.
• To examine the long-term impact of adolescent self-evaluation on adult self-evaluation.
• To explore the influence of schooling on the self-evaluation triad across genders.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study tracking participants from adolescence through adulthood.
• Data collected at three time points: adolescence, 8 years later, and 15 years later.
• Interviews used to assess self-evaluation and related psychosocial factors.

Main Results:

• Distinct psychosocial developmental pathways were identified for males and females.
• A strong connection in self-evaluation was observed between young adulthood and full adulthood for both genders.
• Working women who had negative self-evaluation in adolescence showed increased vulnerability to negative self-evaluation in adulthood.

Conclusions:

• Gender significantly influences the developmental trajectory of self-evaluation.
• Early adolescent self-evaluation has lasting effects, particularly for females.
• Educational and social factors interact differently with self-evaluation based on gender.