The lifespan development of self-esteem

Orth, Ulrich (2017). The lifespan development of self-esteem. In: Specht, Jule (ed.) Personality development across the lifespan (pp. 181-195). London, UK: Elsevier, Academic Press 10.1016/B978-0-12-804674-6.00012-0

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This chapter provides an overview of recent longitudinal research on the development of self-esteem. There is now robust evidence that self-esteem changes in systematic ways across the life course. On average, self-esteem increases during adolescence and young adulthood, peaks in middle adulthood at about age 50–60 years, and declines in old age. Despite these normative developmental changes, long-term studies show that individual differences in self-esteem are relatively stable even across decades, indicating that self-esteem is a personality trait. Finally, a growing body of research suggests that self-esteem has consequences for the person’s well-being and success in important life domains such as relationships, work, and health. The latter finding is particularly important from a practical perspective because if self-esteem influences life outcomes then interventions aimed at increasing self-esteem should prove beneficial for the individual.

Item Type:

Book Section (Book Chapter)

Division/Institute:

07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Psychology > Developmental Psychology

UniBE Contributor:

Orth, Ulrich

Subjects:

100 Philosophy > 150 Psychology

ISBN:

9780128046746

Publisher:

Elsevier, Academic Press

Language:

English

Submitter:

Ulrich Orth

Date Deposited:

28 Nov 2017 10:34

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:08

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/B978-0-12-804674-6.00012-0

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.106608

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/106608

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