Losing Confidence Over Time: Temporal Changes in Self-Esteem Among Older Children and Early Adolescents in Japan, 1999-2006

Abstract

We examined temporal changes in self-esteem among elementary and middle school students in Japan. Previous research has shown that self-esteem decreased among various sectors of the population, from middle school students to adults between 1984 and 2010 in Japan. However, it was unclear whether such temporal changes are also present at earlier stages of development (e.g., in elementary school) and in individual subgroups (e.g., each gender and developmental stage). Identifying such boundary conditions of temporal change will contribute to a better understanding of how cultures change over time. We analyzed representative and large-sample time-series data collected by the Japanese government in 1999 and 2006. Results showed that self-esteem decreased among elementary and middle school students regardless of gender and developmental stage. We suggest that from an early stage of development and among a broad range of the population in Japan, people’s general self-evaluations became more negative between 1999 and 2006.