A cross-sectional study on age- and gender-related changes in the  extent to which self-esteem depends on social evaluation

The aim of this study was to test whether state self-esteem shows stronger fluctuations in response to social feedback in adolescents compared to young adults, and more female than in male participants. A social evaluation paradigm was used on 261 participants between the ages of 12 and 38. It included the creation of an online profile, on which participants received approval, disapproval or no feedback and then reported on their state self-esteem. We hypothesized that adolescents would show greater state self-esteem fluctuations than adults, that women and girls would show greater fluctuations than men and boys, and that this gender difference would peak during adolescence. Results showed no evidence for an effect of age. However, there was a significant effect of gender, where women and girls showed consistently stronger state self-esteem fluctuations in response to approval or disapproval than men and boys. Additionally, in an exploratory t-test, adolescents showed greater drop...Show moreThe aim of this study was to test whether state self-esteem shows stronger fluctuations in response to social feedback in adolescents compared to young adults, and more female than in male participants. A social evaluation paradigm was used on 261 participants between the ages of 12 and 38. It included the creation of an online profile, on which participants received approval, disapproval or no feedback and then reported on their state self-esteem. We hypothesized that adolescents would show greater state self-esteem fluctuations than adults, that women and girls would show greater fluctuations than men and boys, and that this gender difference would peak during adolescence. Results showed no evidence for an effect of age. However, there was a significant effect of gender, where women and girls showed consistently stronger state self-esteem fluctuations in response to approval or disapproval than men and boys. Additionally, in an exploratory t-test, adolescents showed greater drop of state self-esteem when receiving no feedback, compared to adults, who did not significantly differ from their self-esteem baseline. Limitations include low power on certain tests, unequal sample sizes paired with unequal variances, experimental differences and lower ecological validity due to the use of an online profile. Our results imply that within the age range we tested, containing mainly older adolescents and younger adults, the two groups might show relatively similar state self-esteem responses to social approval and disapproval. Adolescents might react more negatively to not receiving feedback. Girls and women seem to react more strongly to social feedback.Show less

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A cross-sectional study on age- and gender-related changes in the extent to which self-esteem depends on social evaluation