Self-Esteem Trajectories and Their Social Determinants in Adolescents With Different Levels of Cognitive Ability

Abstract

This study examines the development of self-esteem in a sample of 138 Australian adolescents (90 males; 48 females) with cognitive abilities in the lowest 15% (L-CA) and a matched sample of 556 Australian adolescents (312 males; 244 females) with average to high levels of cognitive abilities (A/H-CA). These participants were measured annually (Grade 7 to 12). The findings showed that adolescents with L-CA and A/H-CA experience similar high and stable self-esteem trajectories that present similar relations with key predictors (sex, school usefulness and dislike, parenting, and peer integration). Both groups revealed substantial gender differences showing higher levels of self-esteem for adolescent males remaining relatively stable over time, compared to lower levels among adolescent females which decreased until midadolescence before increasing back.

Self-Esteem as a Potential Mediator of the Association Between Social Integration, Mental Well-Being, and Physical Well-Being

“…To examine whether this well-known effect is mediated by self-esteem, we first examined whether social integration also predicts self-esteem. Our data supports this relationship and replicates previous studies (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Morin et al., 2017; Zadro et al., 2004). Second, we found that the hypothesized mediator self-esteem was also positively associated with mental and physical well-being, again confirming findings in the literature (Baumeister et al., 2003; Du et al., 2017; Mann et al., 2004; Orth, Robins, & Roberts, 2008; Taylor & Stanton, 2007; Trzesniewski et al., 2006).…”

“…With respect to social integration, adolescents detach from their parents and are more susceptible to peer influence (Parker et al., 2006) and the potential experience of rejection, exclusion, or bullying in school (Carlyle & Steinman, 2007; Juvonen & Gross, 2008; Pontes, Ayres, Lewandowski, & Pontes, 2018). Regarding self-esteem, adolescents show an increased self-consciousness and self-conflict (Doi & Shinohara, 2018; Parker et al., 2006), and self-esteem is considerably lower during this stage of life than in later life (Morin et al., 2017; Morin, Maiano, Marsh, Nagengast, & Janosz, 2013; Orth & Robins, 2014; Sanchez-Queija, Oliva, & Parra, 2017). With respect to well-being, studies show the emergence of diverse mental and physical problems in adolescence (Collishaw, 2015; Kessler et al., 2005; Merikangas et al., 2010).…”

Self‐concept research with school‐aged youth with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review

“…Studies among adolescents showed a lack of significant differences in global self‐concept between adolescents with intellectual disabilities and TD adolescents. Additional research, realized on a larger representative sample, also supported the idea that self‐concept levels are similar for youth with low, versus moderate to high, levels of cognitive abilities (e.g., Morin et al., ). As for studies among children, they revealed significantly lower levels of global self‐concept for those with intellectual disabilities.…”

Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance Across Gender Groups of the 15-Item Geriatric Depression Scale Among Chinese Elders

“…Given that the response options of items were binary (yes and no), the maximum-likelihood (ML) estimator is not adequate as it could bias the results. The robust weighted least squares with mean and variance adjustment (WLSMV) estimator was used, which could account for the binary response scaling (Finney and DiStefano, 2013; Morin et al, 2017). The whole sample was randomly divided into sample 1 ( n = 1,174) and sample 2 ( n = 1,254).…”