Trajectory Of Self-Esteem Across The Lifespan: An Analysis From Childhood To Old Age

Discuss About The Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology.

Trajectory of self-esteem from childhood to old age

Numerous studies have been conducted in order to study the development of self-esteem but the authors have failed to generate consensual portrait of change in self-esteem across the entire lifespan of an individual. Under the context of the behavioural psychology, self esteem is defined as an individuals’ subjective emotional evaluation of his or her personal worth. It is mainly regarded as the decision which is made by an individual as an attitude towards self. Management, the level of self-esteem varies from person to person and on the basis of age and gender. This difference in the level of self esteem influences the overall outcome of life. Human lifespan is made of four different stages starting from childhood, adolescence, adulthood and older age. Scientific evidence suggests that the level of self-esteem differs with age and this in turn promote the cognitive and social development. The following essay mainly aims to analyse change in self-esteem through different stages of life. In order to discuss the topic in detail, the essay will throw light on three different aspects of self esteem like trajectory of self-esteem, from childhood to old age, factors leading to change in self-esteem and outcomes associated with change in self-esteem.

Self-esteem is inherently associated with several personality traits like emotional stability, conscientiousness and extraversion (Orth, Trzesniewski & Robins, 2010). On an average, the level of self-esteem increases with age starting from young stage of adulthood to midlife and remains high until old age. The level of conscientiousness increases during the life span of adulthood and then start decreasing during the old age. The level of extraversion however shows negligible increase across the adult phase of life. Orth and Robins (2014) stated the trajectory of self-esteem follows a curvature that is identical to emotional stability and conscientiousness (starting from adulthood to midlife). However, question remains regarding whether personality factor and self-esteem are dependent or independent on each other or whether self-esteem increases during the stage of adulthood because there is an increase in the emotional stability and conscientiousness. There also exist an opposite argument like whether increase in emotional stability and conscientiousness is due to an increase in the overall self-esteem. However, Orth, Trzesniewski and Robins (2010) highlighted that self-esteem trajectory drives the emotional stability trajectory and this it can be stated that low self-esteem prospectively influences the development of depression but the opposite concept is not applicable. Moreover, there also an inversely proportional relationships between self-esteem trajectories and conscientiousness trajectories thus individuals who are increasing conscientiousness will gain comparatively more success in life which will help to boost their self-esteem.

Big Five Dimensions of Personality and influence over self-esteem

The study conducted by Orth, Trzesniewski and Robins (2010) highlighted that during childhood, a child gradually develops self-views which are based on the unrealistically positive information and this promote a significant increase in self-esteem. The level of high self-esteem decreases as the child move from pre-school level of elementary school level and progress towards more realistic expectations. The process of self-evaluation occurs in relation to the teachings coming from their closed peers like parents, teachers and other family members. This kind of external feedback and social comparison expose the individuals to more accurate judgement about oneself however, such judgement are majorly negative.

The longitudinal study conducted by Marshall et al. (2014) highlighted that an individual transits from childhood to adolescence is brimmed cognitive development. They become conscious about their body image associated with puberty and succumb to other problems associated with puberty. This sudden exposure of pubertal change is associated with social challenges. Missed opportunities or failed expectations. Under these situations of turmoil, they fail to approach each situation succinctly and thus leading to a sharp decrease in self-esteem (Marshall et al., 2014)

Adulthood is marked by gradual increase in self-esteem and reaches its highest level by the age of 60. Throughout adulthood, an individual utilises his or her capabilities in order to gain a powerful status within the society (Chung et al., 2014). These successful endeavours promote feelings of self-worth. According to Wagner et al. (2013), these successful endeavours promote brings positive outlook about oneself and the same is reflected in one’s self-esteem.

During the stage of older adults, Mullen, Gothe and McAuley (2013) highlighted that the level of self-esteem starts degenerating and this process of degeneration is influenced via significant changes in life like retirement, death of closed peers and low physical competency. This data is in accordance with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Such emotional changes are manifested through depression and this lead to a decrease in the self-esteem. At older age many people experiences emotional crisis which hampers their quality of life and self-worth which in turn decreases the level of self-esteem. Thus it can be said that largest mean level increase in self-esteem occurs during the adult life span and largest decline occurs during old age (Mullen, Gothe & McAuley. 2013)

The main factors leading to change in self-esteem is mainly defined by the big five personality dimensions. The Big Five Dimensions of Personality mainly consists of Extraversion/Introversion, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability/Neuroticism, Openness and Agreeableness towards new experience. These five different dimensions are responsible in casting a strong impact on the self-esteem among the individuals across different socio-economic status, age, gender, ethnicity and nationality (Rammstedt et al., 2017). The relationship between the five dimensions and self-esteem lies in the developmental roots of gene and environment (Rammstedt et al., 2017). According to the study conducted by Krapohl et al. (2014) 30% variance in self-esteem arises from heritable traits. Like having temperamental characteristics are mainly is mainly driven by genes. Under the trajectory of age, it has visualised that both male and female at their adolescence direct their personality dispositions in order to build up negative effect which eventually decreases their self-esteem during this phase. At the core of extraversion, the positive flow of energy increases the level of self-esteem among the individuals (Rammstedt et al., 2017). The component of neuroticism increases the sense of distorted self-esteem which eventually increases with age. This lead to change in personality, individual’s beliefs and their reactions under certain situations. The outcome of sudden situation further affect the level of self-esteem and this in turn regulate their ability to engage successfully in difficult circumstances (Rammstedt et al., 2017).

Gender Differences influenced by Environmental factors and affect on self-esteem

Research evidence highlights that gender differences which are modulated by the environmental factors is one of the modulators of self-esteem among both male and female (Robins et al., 2002). Conversation with the family members is regarded as the main source of such environmental factors affecting the self-esteem. Bleidorn et al. (2016) argued that genetic predisposition is instrumental in influencing self-esteem in both male and females. Further research in this field have helped to gain information regarding how mental changes occurring change in the socio-cultural factors and puberty lead to variable trajectories in the evolution of self-esteem across two different genders following their adulthood and old-age (Bleidorn et al., 2016). Traditionally, males have been found to possess high level of self-esteem throughout their adolescence whereas females do not exhibit the pattern of continuous linear growth. Females are more prone to experience radical increase or decrease in their self-esteem during their adolescence stage. Female are more oriented towards self-objectification, symptoms of disordered eating, appearance anxiety and body during teenage years. The consequences of such dissatisfaction decreases after the age of 30 but this initially exposure leads to subsequent decrease in self-esteem (Robins et al., 2002).

The emergence of ethnic differences influence the level of self-esteem and the same has been observed in the study conducted by Trzesniewski, Donnellan and Robins (2013). Trzesniewski, Donnellan and Robins (2013) mainly studied the influence of ethnic and nationality difference of self-esteem among Latinos, Asians, Middle-Eastern population and black males. Their study highlighted that self-esteem among the Latino boys increase during their adolescence and decreases in their adulthood and this is unlikely to the normal self-esteem trajectory. Identical deviations were observed in case of Middle-Eastern and Asian population whose level of self-esteem peaked during the transition from adulthood to old age.

The changes in self-esteem across the lifespan influence several outcomes of life starting from satisfaction in relationships, the level of job satisfaction, occupational stress, salary, depression and physical health. There is an ongoing argument that individuals with higher levels of self-esteem have better access to chances in life in comparison to the individuals with low level of self-esteem. The study conducted by Orth, Robins and Widaman (2012) highlighted a completely different outcome. They stated that there is no distinct relation between successes of a person with their self-esteem.

Before discussing the outcome of self-esteem development, it is important to understand the relation between self-esteem and the outcomes of life. Self-esteem is the behavior of an individual regarding how a person would react under certain situations in different phases of life. This differs from person to person and mainly depends upon the amount of self-esteem present. Some possible outcomes of changes in self-esteem include satisfaction in relationship, occupational status, overall mental and physical health and job remuneration.

Level of satisfaction in relationship is positively associated with the level of self-esteem. Humans beings with higher level of self-esteem display higher relationship satisfaction under the influence of their enhancing behavioural patterns that helps them to sustain in a relationship for a longer period of time. People with poor self-esteem are found to suffer from poor relationship with destroying behaviour which also affects the relationship in their marital life (Marcia, 2017). People with low self-esteem generally do not abide by the models of healthy relationship skills like conflict resolution, healthy boundaries, cooperation and assertiveness. This hampers the status of overall responsibility. Often which remain relationally abandoned since childhood suffers from poor self-esteem during their adulthood. This not only affects their personal relationships but also hampers their approach of viewing life. Children with low self-esteem are unable to develop long-lasting relation in schools and also lag required skills to freely communicate with peers, which further blocks the scope of developing new healthy relationship (Orth, Robins & Widaman, 2012). Thus it can be sated that disturbed childhood under poor environmental surroundings hampers the self-esteem of the individuals which in turn affects the quality relationships in their personal life.

According to Orth, Robins and Widaman (2012), poor self-esteem is associated with occupational status of an individual. Occupational status is a principal determinant of socio-economic status. Higher level of education increases the level of self-esteem and this increases their level of aspiration of high salaried jobs, which further strengthens their level of self-esteem. Kuster, Orth and Meier (2013) highlighted that positive evaluation of self from adolescent to adulthood is associated with highly paid jobs. The level of confidence and determination assist them to survive under any particular job culture for a longer period. In relation to the theory of Career Construction and the theory of Self-Verification, it can be sated that people with high self-esteem can easily adapt themselves under a wide range of workplace culture. The theory also highlight that people with higher level of self-esteem have high pro-active attitude in workplace (Cai et al., 2015). This proactive attitude helps them to succeed in work in comparison to the people with poor self-esteem. People with poor self-esteem suffer from irrational fear of rejection or becomes irritated quickly and this hampers their performance (Orth, Robins & Widaman. 2012). One with poor self-esteem nurture a pessimistic attitude that disrupts the interpersonal communication skills and thereby affecting the overall job related performance. This is the reason why certain individuals with high qualifications often fail to succeed in life due to poor self-esteem and lack of confidence (Cai et al., 2015).

According to the study conducted by Robins et al. (2002) individuals with high level of self-esteem are found have sound health. For example, individuals with high level of self-esteem can speak freely for advice and for social support and are more likely to take good care of their health. Moreover, individuals with high self-esteem are less likely to suffer from stress and anxiety and possess healthy coping behavior. Orth, Robins and Widaman (2012) people with high level of self-esteem are more likely to contribute to the family and society. They also have higher capacity of coping up with adversities of life while keeping their nerves strong. People with high self-esteem possess effective skills of socialization and can interact freely with other people (Robins et al. 2002). This free interaction helps to overcome the communication problems like difficulty in approaching people and this in turn help to increase the overall level of self-esteem (Pearson, 2016). Orth, Robins and Widaman (2012) also stated that low self-esteem increases the vulnerability of depression. This effect of poor self-esteem is same for both male and female and across the age group starting from adolescence to old age. The study conducted by Robins et al. (2002) however highlighted that poor self-esteem can be regarded as a consequence rather than the cause of depression. Thus, it can be said that people with poor self-esteem suffer from poor health status and this mainly arise from increase in the level of depression, anxiety and violence.

Conclusion

Thus from the above discussion, it can be concluded that, there occurs a gamut change in self-esteem throughout the different stages of life. The trajectory of self-esteem is associated with different personality traits and as the level of conscientiousness increases through the stages of life there occurs changes in the personality level. The sense of self-esteem during adulthood is high and then as a person attains adolescence the level of self-esteem decreases and then gradually increases in adulthood. However, as a person gets old, social insecurity decreases the level of self-esteem. The main factors affecting the level of self-esteem include five dimensions of personality, gender difference, nationality and ethnicity. The outcomes of change in self-esteem are reflected in the level of satisfaction in the personal and professional relationship, modulation in the occupational status and mental and physical health and well-being. Thus overall it can be said that self-esteem holds prominent significance throughout the life of an individual and its change in different stages of life affects the overall life-related outcome.

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