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Cited by 34Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPersonality Traits and PsychologyPsychosocial Factors Impacting Youth

Change and Consistency of Self-Esteem in Early and Middle Adolescence in the Context of School Transition

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Białecka-Pikul, Marta, Stępień-Nycz, Małgorzata, Sikorska, Iwona, Topolewska-Siedzik, Ewa, Cieciuch, Jan·2019·Journal of Youth and Adolescence
DOI 10.1007/s10964-019-01041-yPMC PMC6647528
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Abstract

Self-esteem is continuous and has stable characteristics, but it may also change, e.g., during transitions from one educational level to the next. In a prospective cross-sectional study over a year and a half, 250 Polish early adolescents (N = 109, 54 girls; mean age at T1 = 12.68 years, SD = 0.49) and middle adolescents (N = 141, 107 girls; mean age at T1 = 15.80, SD = 0.44) were tested three times using Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, assessing both global self-esteem and self-evaluation in eight domains. The change and consistency of self-esteem were analyzed, at both group and individual levels. At the group level, the following results were found: (1) continuity of self-esteem in five domains (scholastic competence, athletic competence, physical appearance, close friendship, and romantic appeal) and in global self-esteem and discontinuity in only three domains (social acceptance, job competence, and behavioral conduct); (2) significant inter-individual variation in the change not explained by age; and (3) higher self-esteem (in five domains) in early adolescents. At the individual level, the stability in most domains was weak, but was restored over the second year at the new school. The complexity of the developmental change and consistency in self-esteem in adolescence was highlighted, emphasizing the need for analyzing both group and individual change.

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  • Studies that looked beyond mean-level change during the middle school transition reported significant individual variability in change.

    “Few studies looked beyond mean-level change, but those that did reported significant individual variability in change (Białecka-Pikul et al., 2019;Morin et al., 2013).”

    From Self‐esteem development and life events: A review and integrative process framework (2022) · cites this paper as Białecka-Pikul et al., 2019

  • Other studies found no mean-level change in self-esteem during the middle-school transition.

    “In contrast, other studies found no mean-level change during the middle-school transition (Białecka-Pikul et al., 2019;Proctor & Choi, 1994).”

    From Self‐esteem development and life events: A review and integrative process framework (2022) · cites this paper as Białecka-Pikul et al., 2019

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Białecka-Pikul, M., Stępień-Nycz, M., Sikorska, I., Topolewska-Siedzik, E., & Cieciuch, J.
Affiliations
  • Jagiellonian University (PL)
  • University of Zurich (CH)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-05-27
Volume
48
Issue
8
Pages
1605-1618
ISSN
  • 0047-2891 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-6601
DOI
10.1007/s10964-019-01041-y
PMC
PMC6647528
OpenAlex
W2947175141
Cited by
34
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7
FWCI
4.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Youth and Adolescence (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • Jagiellonian University Repository (Jagiellonian University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
  • Narodowym Centrum Nauki
  • Universität Zürich
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychosocial Factors Impacting Youth
Keywords
self-esteem, self-esteem stability, self-esteem change, transition to school, early adolescence, middle adolescence, self-assessment, scholastic competence, social acceptance, individual differences, adolescent development
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Female, Humans, Male, Prospective Studies, Schools, Self Concept, Sports

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