Self-Esteem Development across the Life Span: A Longitudinal Study with a Large Sample from Germany

Autor/inn/en	Orth, Ulrich; Maes, Jürgen; Schmitt, Manfred
Titel	Self-Esteem Development across the Life Span: A Longitudinal Study with a Large Sample from Germany
Quelle	In: Developmental Psychology, 51 (2015) 2, S.248-259 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0012-1649
DOI	10.1037/a0038481
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Self Esteem; Individual Development; Longitudinal Studies; Adolescents; Young Adults; Older Adults; Developmental Stages; Generational Differences; Age Differences; East Germany; West Germany; Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Self-esteem; Selbstaufmerksamkeit; Individuelle Entwicklung; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Adolescent; Adolescence; Adoleszenz; Jugend; Jugendalter; Jugendlicher; Young adult; Junger Erwachsener; Älterer Erwachsener; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied
Abstract	The authors examined the development of self-esteem across the life span. Data came from a German longitudinal study with 3 assessments across 4 years of a sample of 2,509 individuals ages 14 to 89 years. The self-esteem measure used showed strong measurement invariance across assessments and birth cohorts. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that self-esteem follows a quadratic trajectory across the life span, increasing during adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood, reaching a peak at age 60 years, and then declining in old age. No cohort effects on average levels of self-esteem or on the shape of the trajectory were found. Moreover, the trajectory did not differ across gender, level of education, or for individuals who had lived continuously in West versus East Germany (i.e., the 2 parts of Germany that had been separate states from 1949 to 1990). However, the results suggested that employment status, household income, and satisfaction in the domains of work, relationships, and health contribute to a more positive life span trajectory of self-esteem. The findings have significant implications, because they call attention to developmental stages in which individuals may be vulnerable because of low self-esteem (such as adolescence and old age) and to factors that predict successful versus problematic developmental trajectories. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01