The Determinants of General Self-Esteem in Adolescents: The Influences of Self-Perceived Competence and Social Supports
AUTHOR : 김순혜
INFORMATION : page. 1~18 / 2010 Vol.17 No.4
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between self-esteem, self-perceived
competence and social supports in regards to adolescents. The basic assumption underpinning of this
research exercise is Harter's multifaceted hierarchical model. 2844 middle schoolers and 3349 high schoolers
responded to question items corresponding to the same meaning of those contained in the original
SSPC(Harter, 1982) instrument. Collected data were analysed by means of multiple group analysis in a
Structural Equation Model through SPSSWIN 18.0 and AMOS 18. The results of this research were as
follows. First, high schoolers exhibited a higher perception of self-esteem than middle schoolers. Second, the
means of specific domains in perceived competences and social supports differed across both domains and
grade. In terms of general tendencies, the two groups indicated higher levels of perceived academic
competence than physical appearance. Third, In terms of the relationship between self-esteem and the
sub-factors, perceived academic competence was the most powerful predictor of adolescents' self-esteem. In
the case of middle schoolers, the order of predictive power was academic competence> parents' support>
teacher's support> social acceptance> physical appearance, respectively. In the case of high schoolers, the
order of predictive power was academic competence> parents' support> social acceptance> physical
appearance> behavior conduct, respectively. Fourth, only teacher's support showed a statistically meaningful
difference as being a predictors of self-esteem between the two groups. Taking the results of this research
into consideration, it is suggested that the intervention related to self-esteem should be different across the
various ages of adolescence.