Self-help Articles

by Ulrich Orth, Ph.D., Kali Trzesniewski, Ph.D., Richard Robins, Ph.D.

We do not have the same level of self esteem all throughout our lives. Some may have felt more confident when they were young, while others think that they continue to gain self esteem as they age. The truth is, self esteem is hardly stable. A study published by the American Psychological Association, reported that self esteem is lowest among young adults but increases throughout adulthood and peaks at age 60, just before starting to decline again.

Varying Self Esteems

The study’s researchers measured the self-esteem of 3, 617 U.S. adults by asking them to rate their level of agreement with statements such as, “I take a positive attitude toward myself,” which suggests high self-esteem; “At times I think I am no good at all” and “All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure,” which both suggest low self-esteem. Subjects were also asked about several personal facts and if they had experienced stressful life events, such as losing a job or experiencing death in the family.

On average, women had lower self-esteem than men did throughout most of adulthood, but self-esteem levels converged as men and women reached their 80s and 90s. Blacks and whites had similar self-esteem levels throughout young adulthood and middle age. In old age, average self-esteem among blacks dropped much more sharply than self-esteem among whites. This was the result even after controlling for differences in income and health.

“Self-esteem is related to better health, less criminal behavior, lower levels of depression and, overall, greater success in life,” said the study’s lead author, Ulrich Orth, PhD. “Therefore, it’s important to learn more about how the average person’s self-esteem changes over time.”

Factors Of Self Esteem

Education, income, health and employment status all had some effect on the self-esteem trajectories, especially as people aged. “Specifically, we found that people who have higher incomes and better health in later life tend to maintain their self-esteem as they age,” said Orth.

“We cannot know for certain that more wealth and better health directly lead to higher self-esteem, but it does appear to be linked in some way. For example, it is possible that wealth and health are related to feeling more independent and better able to contribute to one’s family and society, which in turn bolsters self-esteem.”

People of all ages involved in satisfying and supportive relationships tend to have higher self-esteem. However, they also experience the same drop in self-esteem during old age as people in unhappy relationships, despite entering old age with a high self esteem. “Thus, being in a happy relationship does not protect a person against the decline in self-esteem that typically occurs in old age” said co-author Trzesniewski.

Reasons Behind An Unstable Self Esteem

There are numerous theories as to why self-esteem peaks in middle age and then drops after retirement, said the researchers. “Midlife is a time of highly stable work, family and romantic relationships. People increasingly occupy positions of power and status, which might promote feelings of self-esteem,” said co-author Robins, Ph.D. “In contrast, older adults may be experiencing a change in roles such as an empty nest, retirement and obsolete work skills in addition to declining health.”

Orth does not think baby boomers will skew self-esteem trajectories as a majority of that generation reach retirement age. But with medical advances, they will stay healthy longer and, therefore, may be able to work and earn money longer. “It is possible that the decline in self-esteem might occur later in life for baby boomers,” he said.

Article:

"Self-Esteem Development From Young Adulthood to Old Age: A Cohort-Sequential Longitudinal Study," University of Basel, , University of Western Ontario and , University of California, Davis; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 98, No. 4.