Social Class and Self-Esteem Among Children and Adults

Abstract

The literature on the relationship of social class to self-esteem is riddled with contradictions, showing positive, null, and inverse relationships. Two studies examinig this relationship are compared-one, a sample of children aged 8-18; the other, a sample of adults aged 18-65. The results indicate virtually no association for younger children, a modest association for adolescents, and a moderate association for adults. Four principles of self-esteem development are advanced to account for these conditional relations-social comparison processes, reflected appraisals, self-perception theory, and psychological centrality. It is suggested that these principles apply equally to adults and children and that the identical principles help to explain why social class should have different effects on the self-esteem of children and adults.

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