Abstract
Objective: Low self-esteem among adolescents can be considered a risk factor for suicidal behavior in adolescents. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the association between the existence of a third place and role model on self-esteem among adolescents in Japan, where low self-esteem is prevalent among adolescents.Methods: We analyzed data from the 2016 Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study, in which a school-based questionnaire was conducted among children in grades 4, 6, and 8 living in Adachi City, Tokyo (N = 1,609). Children self-rated their own levels of self-esteem. Low self-esteem was defined as lower 10 percentile group. The existence of a third place was defined as a place where children spent time after school other than the home or school campus, and role model was defined as having someone, other than a parent, who they looked up to, and these concepts were assessed via questionnaire.Results: Adolescents without a third place and role model accounted for 10.5 and 6.1%, respectively. We found that children who lacked a third place also showed a significant association with low self-esteem (OR: 1.75, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09–2.81), and those who lacked a role model were 3.34 times more likely to have lower self-esteem (95% CI: 1.98–5.62).Conclusion: The existence of a third place and a role model may be important to prevent low self-esteem among adolescents in Japan.
Highlights
Low self-esteem among adolescents is an important marker for mental disorders
Recent international surveys implemented as part of the International Sexuality Description Project among college students showed that Japan scored the lowest in terms of the Rosenberg self-esteem score (25.50; SD = 4.37) among 53 nations, which is markedly lower than Serbia which has the highest score (33.59; SD = 4.99) [9]
Parental psychological distress, which was measured by having a Kessler 6 (K6) score of 5+, was observed in 35.2% of caregiver participants, while child maltreatment was reported by 35.2%
Summary
Low self-esteem among adolescents is an important marker for mental disorders. For example, adolescents with lower self-esteem are more likely to show signs of mental illness such as depression [1,2,3,4], anxiety [1, 4], and suicidal ideation and attempted suicide [5,6,7]. Recent international surveys implemented as part of the International Sexuality Description Project among college students showed that Japan scored the lowest in terms of the Rosenberg self-esteem score (25.50; SD = 4.37) among 53 nations, which is markedly lower than Serbia which has the highest score (33.59; SD = 4.99) [9]. Cultural aspects such as individualism/collectivism [9] and performative pressure [10] play a major part in the level of self-esteem in Japanese, Japan is a suitable setting to investigate the modifiable social determinants of low self-esteem
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