Self-Esteem Development Across the Life Span and its Consequences for Important Life Outcomes
In this talk, I will provide an overview of recent longitudinal research examining the life-span development of self-esteem and its influence on outcomes in life domains such as work and relationships. There is now robust evidence that self-esteem changes in systematic ways across the life span. On average, self-esteem increases from adolescence to middle adulthood, peaks at about age 60 years, and declines in old age. Despite these normative developmental changes, research indicates that individual differences in self-esteem are relatively stable even across long periods, supporting the conclusion that self-esteem is a personality trait. Finally, research suggests that self-esteem contributes to a person's well-being and success in important life domains. Given the increasing evidence that self-esteem has real-world consequences, the topic of self-esteem development is of considerable societal significance.