TITLE:
The Change in Self-Esteem among Middle School Students in Japan, 1989-2002
AUTHORS:
Yuji Ogihara
KEYWORDS:
Self-Esteem, Temporal Change, Cultural Change, Social Change, Japan
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.7 No.11,
October
21,
2016
ABSTRACT: This
paper examined temporal changes in self-esteem among middle school students in
Japan from 1989 to 2002. Previous research showed that self-esteem decreased among
middle school students between 1999 and 2006. However, it was unclear whether
such a decrease was also present in other periods of time. To obtain a better
understanding of how people adapt to socio-economic environments, it is
important to gain a more comprehensive view of such long-term cultural/social
changes. Therefore, to supplement the findings of the existing research on
changes in self-esteem, we analyzed large-sample time-series data collected in
Japan in 1989 and 2002. We found that middle schoolers’ self-esteem decreased
from 1989 to 2002, consistent with previous research. Thus, our study extends
the previous research by presenting additional data showing the decrease in
self-esteem in Japan.