I’m OK, you’re OK...but that might change as we get older

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

How you feel about yourself may be different in your 20s than your 60s, according to a new study that shows self-esteem could be somewhat fluid throughout life.

Researchers looked at data on 3,617 people from the Americans’ Changing Lives study, a national study of people ages 25 to 104. Surveys were done over a 16-year period from 1986 to 2002, in which men and women were asked questions relating to self-esteem, such as, ‘I take a positive attitude toward myself,’ ‘At times I think I am no good at all’ and ‘All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.’ In addition, information was also obtained on the participants’ education levels, ethnicity, income, job status, relationships, health and social support, all things that can factor into self-esteem.

People’s levels of self-esteem waxed and waned through the years, with various issues having influences. Overall, self-esteem increased during young adulthood through middle age, peaked at about age 60, then declined as people got older. During young adulthood women had lower self-esteem than men, but the genders were neck-and-neck in old age.

Both whites and blacks had comparable self-esteem levels through middle age, but blacks experienced a steeper decline than whites as they got older, and that didn’t change after the study authors adjusted for income and health. Income, health, job status and education predicted higher self-esteem, especially as people got older.

‘Specifically, we found that people who have higher incomes and better health in later life tend to maintain their self-esteem as they age,’ said lead author Ulrich Orth of the University of Basel, in Switzerland, in a press release. ‘We cannot know for certain that more wealth and better health directly lead to higher self-esteem, but it does appear to be linked in some way. For example, it is possible that wealth and health are related to feeling more independent and better able to contribute to one’s family and society, which in turn bolsters self-esteem.’

Relationships affected self-esteem as well -- those in supportive and fulfilling relationships felt better about themselves. But as people in good relationships aged they experienced a drop in self-esteem, the same as people in unhappy relationships.

The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

-- Jeannine Stein