The Japanese Association of School Health

Paper

ISSN ONLINE : 1880-2400

[School Health Vol.5, 1-8, 2009]

A Survey on the Current Status of High-School Students’ Sense of Self-Esteem －Correlations between High-School Students’ Sense of Self-Esteem and Satisfaction with School Life －

Michiyo Okada*, Takeshi Suzue*, Hiroko Tamura*, Ai Fujikawa*,
Yumiko Ichihara*, Harunobu Shima*, Shigeru Suna* and Fumihiko Jitsunari*

  • *Department of Hygiene/Public Health Faculty of Medicine University of Kagawa
  • 1750-1 Ikenobe, Miki-cho, Kita-gun, Kagawa 761-0793 Japan
  • michell_kaiaya@yahoo.co.jp

[Received October 12, 2007 ; Accepted January 15, 2009]

Keywords:
high-school student, sense of self-esteem, satisfaction with school life, self-acceptance, self-realization

Free PDF

Abstracts

In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted using a "sense of self-esteem" scale to clarify the "sense of self-esteem" of Japanese high-school students. Additionally, correlations between their sense of self-esteem and satisfaction with school life were analyzed, because the latter depends greatly on relationships between friends, their sense of self-esteem, and grade/gender differences. Valid responses to the questionnaire were collected from 2,112 students (862 boys and 1,250 girls) of all grades at three public high schools in Japan. Six factors ("introverted personality and human distrust," "pleasure and a feeling of fulfillment," "self-manifestation and motivated personality," "strain from peer criticism," "self-acceptance," and "self-realization") were extracted from a factor analysis of the "sense of self-esteem" scale. For the characteristics of these students, a comparison was performed by grade, revealing that their sense of self-esteem generally decreased with increasing grade. Another comparison, by gender, demonstrated that boys accepted the current self, and were satisfied with themselves, while girls were not, and that boys felt themselves as yet to begin self-realization, while girls saw themselves generally on their way to it. A significant correlation was identified between the "sense of self-esteem" and "level of satisfaction with high-school life" scales. It was clarified that students who were more open-minded, felt more pleasure, and more actively accepted themselves felt a greater sense of having friends, and were more satisfied with their school lives, whereas those more introverted and more anxious about the opinions of others felt less of a sense of having friends, less fulfillment in school activities, and were not as satisfied with their school lives.

References

  • Boden, J.M., Fergusson, D.M., Horwood, L.J. (2007). Self-esteem and violence, testing links between adolescent self-esteem and later hostility and violent behavior, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42, 881-891.
  • Brent, D.A., Holder, D., Kolko, D., Birmaher, B., Baugher.M., Roth, C., Iyenger, S. and Johnson, B.A. (1997). A clinical psychotherapy trial for adolescent depression comparing cognitive, family, and supportive therapy, Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 877-885.
  • Clarke, G.N., Rohde, P., Lewinsohn, P.M., Hops, H. and Seeley, J.R. (1999). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of adolescent depression: efficacy of acute group treatment and booster sessions, Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 38, 272-279.
  • Hiraishi, K. (1993). A Study on Development of Self- Consciousness in Adolescence(II)－The relation between self-consciousness and perceived self by significant others－, Bulletin of the School of Education, Nagoya University(Educational Psychology), 40, 99-125. (in Japanese)
  • Ikeda, K. (2006). Relationship between the slimness-oriented behavior and self-respect among early adolescent females, Adolescentology, 24, 473-482. (in Japanese)
  • Ito, M. and Kodama, M. (2005). Sense of Authenticity and global and contingent self-esteem, Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 54, 222-232. (in Japanese)
  • Kaneko, H., Honjo, S. and Takamura, S. (2003). The relationship between self-reference and social phobic, depression, and school absenteeism tendencies, The Japanese Journal of Personality, 12, 2-13. (in Japanese)
  • Kawabata, T., Cross, D., Nishioka, N. and Shimai, S. (1999). Relationship between self-esteem and smoking behavior among Japanese early adolescents: initial results from a three-year study, The Journal of School Health, 69, 280-284.
  • Kawabata, T., Nishoka, N., Ishikawa, T., Ishikawa, T., Katsuno, S., Haruki, T., Shimai, S. and Nozu, Y. (2005). Relationships between self-esteem, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and use of illegal drugs among adolescents, Japanese Journal of School Health, 46, 612-627. (in Japanese)
  • Kawabata, T., Ishikawa, T., Katsuno, S., Nishioka, N., Nozu. Y., Shimai, S. and Haruki, T. (2007). Sexual Behavior and Related Factors among Junior and Senior High School Students －Focusing on Psychosocial Variables Including Self-esteem－ Japanese Journal of School Health, 49, 335-347. (in Japanese)
  • Kawai, E., Yoshida, T., Miyamoto, H. and Ymanaka, K. (2006). Evaluation of training program to prevent deterioration of children’s self-esteem, Fostering children’s skills in arguing against self-defeating cognitions about negative events, Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 54, 112-123. (in Japanese)
  • Nagata, A. and Okamoto, Y. (2005). Analysis of the development of relatedness, constructed through relationship with significant others, Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 53, 331-343. (in Japanese)
  • Obokata, A. and Muto, T. (2005). The relationship between mild delinquency of junior high school students and depression inclination, Journal of Japanese Clinical Psychology, 23, 533-543. (in Japanese)
  • Ogawa, I., Kawabata, T. and Nishioka, N.(2006). Associations between family-and peer-related self-esteem and smoking and drinking behavior among junior high school students, Japanese Journal of School Health, 47, 525-534. (in Japanese)
  • Okada, M. (2005). The effects of the introduced peer support system on the levels of student satisfaction with high school life, The Japanese Annals of Peer Support, 2, 1-14. (in Japanese)
  • Okada, M. (2006). A report about a practical application of a peer support activity at high school, The Japanese Annals of Peer Support, 3, 57-64. (in Japanese)
  • Okada, M., Suzue, T., Tamura, H., Fujikawa, I., Suna, S., Mannami, T. and JItsunari, F. (2007). The creation of the "Degree of satisfaction to high school students’ school life" measurement, Journal of District Environment/Health Research, 10, 1-7. (in Japanese)
  • Okubo, T. and Kato, H. (2005). A test of goodness of fit hypothesis in adolescents and young adults, Psychological needs and subjective adjustment in school environments, Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 53, 368-380. (in Japanese)
  • Shimizu, K., Kawabe, H. and Kaizuka, T. (2005). The relationship between anthropophobic tendency and separation-individual processes in adolescence, Journal of Japanese Clinical Psychology, 23, 579-590. (in Japanese)
  • Shiraishi, S. (2005). Cognitive therapy for reducing and preventing depressive moods, A practical study with undergraduates, Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 53, 252-262. (in Japanese)
  • Takakura, M., Kobayashi, M., Miyagi, M., Kobashigawa, H., Wake, N. and Kishimoto, K. (2006). Factor structure of the relationship between psychosocial school environment and health complaints among Japanese 6th and 7th grade students, Adaptation of the constructs using by the WHO health behaviour in school-aged children study, Japanese Journal of School Health, 48, 18-31. (in Japanese)
  • Tanaka, T. and Yoshii, K. (2005). Influence on the "willingness to attend school" of "chum experience" and "family cohesion", Journal of Japanese Clinical Psychology, 23, 99-107. (in Japanese)
  • Yoshino, S., Sasahara, S., Tatsukawa, T., Hattori, K., Asukata, N., Morita, N., Matsuzaki, I. and Yoshikawa, M. (2005). A study on the relationship between the family function and the incidence of adolescent problems, Adolescentology, 23, 234-242. (in Japanese)

▲ Go to top of page