The relationship between self-esteem and psychological adjustment in young adolescents

J Adolesc. 1992 Mar;15(1):83-97. doi: 10.1016/0140-1971(92)90067-f.

Abstract

The study adopts a multi-dimensional construct of self-esteem to examine the relationship between self-perception and psychological adjustment in order to identify specific dimensions that discriminate between disturbed and non-disturbed groups. The disturbed group (n = 33) is derived from a clinical sample and are matched with a non-disturbed group (n = 33) of adolescents. Results indicate that dimensional self-concept scores are significantly lower for clinical subjects while there are no significant differences between groups on the mathematics, honesty, and physical ability dimensions. These findings provide a more fine grained understanding of the relationship between self-esteem and psychological adjustment and emphasize the need to examine self-esteem in terms of its particular dimensions.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / psychology*
  • Psychology, Adolescent*
  • Self Concept*
  • Sex Factors