L’estime de soi globale et physique à l’adolescence

Abstract

ObjectiveFrom a data collection conducted among junior high-school students, we propose to assess global and physical self-esteem. Indeed, profound physical changes, psychological and social affect this phase of development of the person and the object of this article is to clarify what are the potential impacts of these changes on self-esteem as a function of age and gender. MethodsFive hundred and seventy-nine junior high-school students of the Midi-Pyrenees region, aged 11 to 17 years (M=13.34, SD=1.20) have informed the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (1965) and the physical self-inventory (Ninot, Delignières and Fortes, 2000). ResultsThe reliability of both tools is confirmed from our study sample. The results allow to update significant differences in global and physical self-esteem according to the age and gender of the adolescents. ConclusionThe discussion focuses on the interpretation of gender differences in the assessment of global self-esteem and physical interpretation of the differences in the development of the person.