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School life and adolescents' self-esteem trajectories
Alexandre J S Morin1, Christophe Maïano, Herbert W Marsh
1University of Western Sydney.
Child Development
|April 5, 2013
Summary
Adolescents show distinct global self-esteem (GSE) trajectories, with school environment factors significantly influencing these paths, especially for different genders. Understanding these patterns is key to supporting adolescent well-being.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Sociology of Education
Background:
- Adolescence is a critical period for self-esteem development.
- Understanding individual differences in self-esteem trajectories is crucial.
- The school environment significantly impacts adolescent psychological well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify distinct trajectories of global self-esteem (GSE) in adolescents.
- To examine the relationship between GSE trajectories and school environment factors (interpersonal, organizational, instructional).
- To explore gender as a moderator in the relationship between school life and GSE trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Employed growth mixture modeling (GMM) to analyze longitudinal data.
- Utilized a 4-year, six-wave follow-up study of 1,008 adolescents.
- Developed methods for estimating student-level effects with insufficient schools for multilevel analysis.
Main Results:
- Identified four distinct latent classes of GSE trajectories: elevated, moderate, increasing, and low.
- Global self-esteem demonstrated trait-like stability as it increased over time.
- School life factors significantly predicted membership in different GSE trajectories, with gender playing a moderating role.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent global self-esteem follows diverse developmental paths.
- The school environment is a significant factor shaping these self-esteem trajectories.
- Interventions should consider gender differences when addressing self-esteem development in schools.
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