Poster #215 - The Highs and Lows of Adolescence: Age-Related Changes to Self-Esteem and Emotion Regulation

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Social, Emotional, Personality

Integrative Statement

Adolescence is a developmental period dominated by biological, psychological, and emotional changes that can negatively affect a young person’s self-esteem and their ability to “get a grip” on their emotions (Rhodes, Roffman, Reddy, & Fredriksen, 2004). Self-esteem is defined as one’s “feeling of self-worth” and is formed by introspection (i.e., reflecting on who one is as a person) and the need to conform to others’ expectations (Bolognini, Plancherel, Bettschart, & Halfon, 1996). This combination can cause a significant shift in self-esteem, particularly during early adolescence, when image is everything. Emotion regulation also becomes relevant as many teenagers are experiencing intense emotions in response to everyday situations for the first time (Zimmermann & Iwanski, 2014). This concept refers to all processes involved in the “initiation, transition, or inhibition of emotional states and their behavioral manifestations” (Wan & Savina, 2016). The development of emotion regulation throughout the adolescent period varies. As compared to late adolescence, early adolescence is characterized by a “higher variability of negative emotions” (Zimmermann & Iwanski, 2014). The perception is that older adolescents are equipped to handle life stressors because not only have they been dealing with these issues longer, it is more likely that they have acquired coping strategies. However, an increase in age is not always synonymous with an increase in wisdom. How is age related to adolescents’ self-esteem and emotion regulation? Further, is there any relationship between these two processes (i.e., does high self-esteem reflect better emotion regulation skills)?

The present study is derived from pilot data with 106 middle school and 56 high school students attending after school programs that offer enrichment opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for underrepresented youth in Brooklyn, New York. Students were administered surveys mid-school year to evaluate adolescents’ perceptions of their own self-esteem and emotion regulation. Three items from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used to assess self-esteem on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” (Rosenberg, 1965). Additionally, five items from the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire were used to assess emotion regulation on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from “not at all” to “very true” (Gross & John, 2003).

Preliminary findings suggest that age is related to adolescents’ self-esteem for both middle and high school students enrolled in STEM-based after school programs, but not emotion regulation. Age was negatively correlated with self-esteem for those in middle school (r = -.314, p < .01), while positively correlated for those in high school (r = .345, p < .05). Older adolescents are more likely to have a “positive view of themselves” and be “satisfied” with who they are. Furthermore, self-esteem and emotion regulation were positively correlated for both middle (r = .353, p = .001) and high school students (r = .658, p < .001). It is not surprising that these processes are closely related because they both seem to become more meaningful around the same time during adolescence. Further analyses will examine the role of adolescents’ social relationships on self-esteem and emotion regulation.

Authors

• Enrica Bridgewater, Brooklyn College - CUNY
  Presenting Author

• Erika Niwa, Brooklyn College - CUNY
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura C. Reigada, Brooklyn College - CUNY
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jacob Shane, Brooklyn College - CUNY
  Non-Presenting Author