Self Esteem Declines Around Retirement

By Devaki

Monday, April 5, 2010, 17:05

Self-esteem rises as people age but starts declining around the retirement, says the new study. It also explains that self-esteem declines sharply among older adults, while middle-aged are the most confident lot.

Self-esteem is related to better health, less criminal behaviour, lower levels of depression and overall, greater success in life. It is important to learn more about how an average person's self-esteem changes over time, says the experts.

Self-esteem was lowest among young adults but increased throughout adulthood, peaking at age 60, before it started to decline.

Four times between 1986 and 2002, researchers surveyed a total of 3,617 adults from the United States.

The researchers measured the self-esteem by asking participants to rate their level of agreement. This included the statements such as, 'I take a positive attitude toward myself,' which suggests high self-esteem; 'At times I think I am no good at all' and 'All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure,' which both suggest low self-esteem.

Participants were also asked about their ethnicity, education, income, work status, relationship satisfaction, marital status, health, social support and if they had experienced stressful life events. Some examples of stressful life events include suddenly losing a job, being the victim of a violent crime, or experiencing the death of a parent or of a child.

On average, women had lower self-esteem than did men throughout most of adulthood, but self-esteem levels converged as men and women reached their 80s and 90s. Blacks and whites had similar self-esteem levels throughout young adulthood and middle age. In old age, average self-esteem among blacks dropped much more sharply than self-esteem among whites. This was the result even after controlling for differences in income and health.

Education, income, health and employment status all had much impacts on the self-esteem trajectories, especially as people aged. The higher incomes and better health in later life tend to maintain the self-esteem with ageing, says the experts.They say that these factors are linked with the self-esteem of a person, in some way. It helps them to feel more independent and better able to contribute to one's family and society, which inturn bolsters the self-esteem.