Self-esteem and social-personal orientation of Indian 12- and 18-year-olds.

Abstract

Measures of self-ideal congruence and of social-personal orientation were obtained in Delhi from groups of 50 Indian males and females of about age 12 and age 18, predominantly of socio-economic Class I. These data were compared with longitudinal American data obtained by Carlson. Among the preadolescents, the average self-ideal congruence score for the Indian girls was highest, followed by Indian boys, American girls and boys. Only the differences involving the Indian girls were statistically significant. At age 18 the average female congruence score was insignificantly above the average male score. In social-personal orientation, over half of the Indian preadolescent and adolescent girls were socially oriented. About one quarter of the Indian preadolescent boys were socially oriented; almost half of the older boys were. In contrast, the American girls had changed from one quarter socially oriented to over one-half; the American boys had changed from almost one-half to approximately one-eighth.