Abstract
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.
