Gender Differences in Domain-Specific Self-Esteem: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis examines gender differences in 10 specific domains of self-esteem across 115 studies, including 428 effect sizes and 32,486 individuals. In a mixed-effects analysis, men scored significantly higher than women on physical appearance (d ϭ 0.35), athletic (d ϭ 0.41), personal self (d ϭ 0.28), and self-satisfaction self-esteem (d ϭ 0.33). Women scored higher than men on behavioral conduct (d ϭ Ϫ0.17) and moral-ethical self-esteem (d ϭ Ϫ0.38). The gender difference in physical appearance self-esteem was significant only after 1980 and was largest among adults. No significant gender differences appeared in academic, social acceptance, family, and affect self-esteem. The results demonstrate the influence of reflected appraisals on self-esteem.

The development of global and domain-specific self-esteem from age 13 to 31.

“…First, even though the SPPA shows favorable psychometric properties (Harter, 1988;Wichstrøm, 1995) and is one of the most used measures of domain-specific self-esteem among adolescents (Gentile et al, 2009;Huang, 2010), slightly different results may have been obtained with a different self-esteem scale. For instance, Huang (2010) showed that mean developmental trajectories of global self-esteem differed significantly according to the scale used to assess self-esteem.…”

“…Global and domain-specific self-esteem was assessed by a revised version of the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (SPPA) (SPPA; Harter, 1988), which is one of the most used measures of domain-specific self-esteem among adolescents (Gentile et al, 2009;Huang, 2010). The original version is a 45-item self-report scale consisting of nine subscales.…”

“…The only domain in which women had higher self-esteem scores was intimate relationships (Donnellan et al, 2007;Young & Mroczek, 2003). Differences in the shape of development were particularly observed for appearance self-esteem, with the greatest gender difference in early adolescence and gradual reductions through adolescence and emerging adulthood (Cole et al, 2001;Gentile et al, 2009). For other domains of self-esteem, stable gender differences over age or somewhat mixed findings concerning how rates of change differed according to gender were observed (Cole et al, 2001;Donnellan et al, 2007;Gentile et al, 2009;Steiger et al, 2014;Young & Mroczek, 2003).…”

“…Differences in the shape of development were particularly observed for appearance self-esteem, with the greatest gender difference in early adolescence and gradual reductions through adolescence and emerging adulthood (Cole et al, 2001;Gentile et al, 2009). For other domains of self-esteem, stable gender differences over age or somewhat mixed findings concerning how rates of change differed according to gender were observed (Cole et al, 2001;Donnellan et al, 2007;Gentile et al, 2009;Steiger et al, 2014;Young & Mroczek, 2003). Diverging findings in different studies may mainly be due to the different age spans examined, where each study typically covered some few years of the adolescent or young adult period.…”

Metric invariance of the French version of the Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale1,2,3

“…Gentile, Grabe, Dolan-Pascoe, and Wells (2009 ) have published a meta-analysis on domain-specifi c sex diff erences regarding self-esteem, but these results may not be automatically be generalized to self-esteem contingencies. found that compared with men, women's self-worth depends more on approval, appearance, academics, and family support, which fi ts with a rather social profi le, in line with fi ndings by Josephs, Markus, and Tafarodi (1992 ).…”