Gender Based Level of Self-Esteem among Adolescents

Abstract

Background: Teens undergo major changes in their lives and their self-esteem can often become fragile. Teenagers' self-esteem is often affected by the physical and hormonal changes they experience, especially during puberty. The study aimed to assess the level of selfesteemand identify gender based differences among adolescents. Materials and Methods: The descriptive study design was adopted. Through a nonrandomized convenient sampling technique, one hundred twenty students in the age group of 15-18 years were enrolled. The data were collected through the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale through the interview method. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Out of 120 adolescents, 32% had low self-esteem and 14% had high self-esteem. Overall, the level of self-esteem was low among males (63%) as compared to female (37%) adolescents. The chi-square value depicts that age, sex, education, and residence had a significant association with low and high self-esteem. Conclusion: Adolescents with low self-esteem, irrespective of gender face lot of difficultyin managing obstacles and preventing issues. Thus, there is an urgent need for a holistic approach and assertiveness training is required to strengthen emotional and psycho-social development and aid in achieving whole adolescent health.