Gender Differences in Adolescent Self-Esteem: An Exploration of Domains

Abstract

The relationship between gender and global self-esteem in adolescence, while modest, has been well established, with boys consistently scoring higher than girls. In the present study, we sought to understand gender differences in adolescent self-esteem in terms of its component parts. With a relatively large (n = 545) sample of adolescents, drawn from Grades 8, 10, and 12, we specified 8 domains of adolescent self-esteem (personal security, home/parents, peer popularity, academic competence, attractiveness, personal mastery, psychological permeability, and athletic competence) across a number of different instruments and brought them together into a common assessment superstructure. Gender differences as well as the relative contributions of the different domains to overall self-esteem scores were measured. As predicted, boys attained slightly higher global self-esteem scores than girls did, by a difference of .22 standard deviation units. Contrary to our expectation of more balanced domain effects, boys significantly outperformed girls in 6 of 8 domains, whereas the 2 remaining domains exhibited no significant gender differences. There were no main or interaction effects for grade level. In terms of relative contribution of these domains to global self-esteem for the 2 genders, global self-esteem in boys and girls is predicted in very similar strengths and in the same order of magnitude by identical domains of self-esteem: home/parents, personal security, academic competence, attractiveness, and personal mastery--yielding multiple R2s from .88 to .91.

Perceived Social Support and Self-Esteem towards Gender Roles: Contributing Factors in Adolescents

“…Studies as cited in Ayyash-Abdo (1997), for instance, Quatman and Watson (2001), and O'Brien et. al.…”

Association of Optimism and Health-Related Behavior with Mental Health in Czech Adolescents

“…In addition, gender differences in global self-esteem, with adolescent boys consistently scoring higher than girls, are well documented (e.g. Bolognini, Plancherel, Bettschart, & Halfon, 1996;Quatman, & Watson, 2001).…”

Self-esteem and depression in adolescents

“…When compared to boys, girls seem particularly vulnerable with regard to the level of their overall self-esteem. Generally, girls have significantly more negative attitudes towards themselves than boys (13). Achieving and maintaining a high and stable self-esteem at that age seems to be a specific challenge for them.…”