Self-evaluations of competence, task values, and self-esteem.

Abstract

Over the last 10 years, there have been extensive discussions in media and academic publication outlets regarding the costs of adolescence for females in terms of mental health, self-esteem, and identity. For example, the American Association of University Women (AAUW; 1990) reported marked declines in girls' self-confidence during the early adolescent years.Similarly, Carol Gilligan (1990) has reported that girls lose confidence in their ability to express their needs and opinions as they move into the early adolescent years; she referred to this process as "losing one's voice." Finally, Mary Pipher (1994), in her very popular book Reviving Opheliu, outlined a variety of ways in which young female adolescents lose confidence in themselves and become depressed.We wish to thank all of our colleagues and former students who have worked with us in developing the studies summarized in this chapter:

Sleepless in Chicago: Tracking the Effects of Adolescent Sleep Loss During the Middle School Years

“…Boys initially reported higher levels of self-esteem than girls, a result that is generally supported in the literature (Bolognini, Plancherel, Bettschart, & Halfon, 1996;Eccles, Barber, Jozefowicz, Malenchuk, & Vida, 2002;Kling et al, 1999). Although drops in self-esteem are expected for both boys and girls during adolescence (Robins, Trzesniewski, Tracy, Gosling, & Potter, 2002), boys' selfesteem dropped more precipitately than girls' over time.…”

The Relationship Between Motivation Orientations and Competitive Anxiety in Bocce Players: Does Gender Make a Difference

“…This is because the boys in general have tendency to compete, but the girls to play. A study on adolescent students explored that the girls rated themselves as most competent in English and social activities and as least competent in sports, on the other hand the boys rated themselves as most competent, by a substantial margin, in sports [37]. Therefore all these results show that female athletes experience anxiety stronger than males although no significant difference was recorded.…”

Identidade de gênero/sexo de atletas e sedentários

“…Isso pode ter se refletido nos estudos de Bem (1974) e Sabo (1985), nos quais as meninas possuem dificuldade de conciliar a natureza competitiva com a sua feminilidade. Da mesma forma, Eccles et al (1999) e Harrison e Lynch (2005) relatam que muitas jovens mulheres ainda acreditam existir um conflito inerente entre valores e preferências femininas com a grande competitividade que algumas atividades físicas proporcionam, características predominantemente masculinas. Tal situação se confirma, neste estudo, com um menor interesse das mulheres atletas participantes, pela prática do esporte na infância.…”

“…Por outro lado, mulheres empenhadas na prática de esportes considerados masculinos recebem similar percepção de desvio. (BEM, 1974;COLLEY;CHIPPS, 1985;SABO, 1985;MESSNER;SABO, 1994;BRADY et al, 1996;ECCLES et al, 1999;HARRISON;LYNCH, 2005).…”