Influence of Socio-Demographic Background on the Self-Esteem of Secondary Schoolsꞌ Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Background: Much research has been conducted on self-esteem, although mainly in the West. Findings indicate that self-esteem drops sharply in adolescence, more so in girls than boys. The development of adolescent in totality cannot write off the value and power socioeconomic background has on them. The influence is believed to be intertwined and espouses many developmental tasks of adolescents’ including self-esteem. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the influence of socio-demographic background on the self-esteem of secondary schoolsꞌ adolescent girls. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted at the governmental secondary school for girls in ElSinbellawin city, Dakhlia governorate, Egypt from the beginning of November, 2018 to the middle of January, 2019. A total number of 187 students were randomly selected from the governmental school. Socio-demographic data was obtained through self-report questionnaire and self- esteem was assessed using 10- item Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scales (RSES). The results showed that the mean age of the respondents was 15.7±0.75. The means core of self-esteem among the students was 20.1±4.5. A total of 120 (64.2%) of the participants had high self- esteem, 59 (31.6%) had moderate self-esteem whereas, only8 (4.3%) had low self-esteem. The results also showed statistically significant negative correlation between self-esteem and studentsꞌ age(r = -0.163, P=0.03), scholastic grade(r = -0.223, P=.003) and residence (r = -0.209, P=0.007). It can be conclusion: The study showed that; high self- esteem is more common among younger adolescents aged 14-15 and rural resided ones. Therefore, it is recommendation: According to the results due to the present study, we recommend that; schools should incorporate self-esteem activities into the regular school health curriculum, beside the need for a school web-based provision of information aimed at proactively increasing students’ self-esteem and skills for dealing with different situations.