Stability and Change in the Adolescent's Self-Image

Abstract

A longitudinal study of changes in the structure of the self-image included 49 students studied in the sixth grade and as high-school seniors. Self and ideal-self descriptions, obtained on parallel forms (preadolescent and adolescent) of a questionnaire designed to control several response sets, provided measures of self-esteem and social-personal orientation. Over the 6-year period, as predicted, girls showed an increase in social orientation while boys increased in personal orientation, reflecting the different processes of personality development for adolescent boys and girls. Self-esteem, however, was independent of sex role. Adolescents low in self-esteem more frequently characterized others in terms of personal reference and/or derogatory attitudes on the Role Construct Repertory Test. Current personality theory defines as a central problem of adolescence the task of achieving a sense of personal identity. While the psychological processes involved in consolidating a sense of identity cannot, as yet, be fully specified, one reflection of the basic personality change might be found by observing continuities and changes in the self concept during this developmental period. Surprisingly little is known about stability and change in the self concept during adolescence. The basic problem would seem to require longitudinal study of the structure of the self concept over a period of adolescent development. Such longitudinal studies are rare, however, and at present the major empirical work is represented by Engel's (1959) study. Engel found a relatively high degree of stability in adolescents' Q-sort selfdescriptions over a 2-year period and found indicators of self concept related to adjustment but independent of age, sex, and intelligence within her sample. The implications of Engel's findings-that the self concept re