Developmental Characteristics of Self-evaluation in Middle and Late Adulthood

Self-esteem and Five Domains of Self-evaluation

Abstract

The present study tried to clarify developmental characteristics of self-evaluation, consisting of five domains, in middle and late adulthood, with 2,026 participants of 30-year through 75-year old. Self-esteem as the criterion, self-evaluation of internal self was a significant predictor in middle and late adulthood, and those of social and economic self were also significant predictors during early and post middlescence. The five domains were more or less independent of each other in middle and late adulthood. In examination of age-group differences in correlations among the five, men showed significant differences in those of economic self with other domains, while women showed differences in those of both economic and health domains with others. The correlations were relatively high during early middlescence, but the domains grew more independent of each other during late and post middlescence. Especially, the correlations of economic self with other domains gradually but significantly decreased during early, late, and post middlescence. It was suggested that self-esteem and structure of self-evaluation explained developmental characteristics, such as the “paradox of well-being” and “crisis” in middle and late adulthood.