The relative age effect and the development of self-esteem

Abstract

A recent paper has demonstrated a relationship between suicide during the teen years and the age, relative to one's classmates, at which these individuals entered school. This represents the latest, and perhaps most important, of a series of studies that have focused on the effects of grouping children by age of entry into particular activities. This phenomenon, known as the relative age effect, is strikingly evident in activities that are competitive and where performance is highly correlated with age and level of maturity. To date, relative age research has reported significant and substantial achievement differences within the confines of athletic and academic pursuits. However, with the advent of the study noted above, it now appears that emotional development is also implicated. Here we demonstrate that a relatively young age of entry into the formal educational system is associated with reduced self-esteem several years later. This suggests that self-esteem (or a related factor, such as self-efficacy) serves as an important factor lying functionally between proximal relative age effects and suicide.