During adolescence, several factors contribute to the formation of self-concept, which is the individual’s perception and evaluation of themselves. The first factor is personal experiences and achievements. Adolescents’ perceptions of their abilities, skills, and accomplishments contribute to their sense of self-worth and self-efficacy. The second factor is cultural and societal norms influence adolescents’ self-concept by shaping their beliefs, values, and attitudes. The third factor is the influence of family and peers. Family members provide a secure base for adolescents to explore their sense of self, while peers offer social comparison and feedback. Understanding these factors and their interaction can help caregivers and educators better support adolescents as they navigate this critical period of identity development.

14.2.1 Cognitive Influences on Self-Concept

As we have seen in previous chapters, the development of self-awareness begins in early childhood. During adolescence, the development of self-concept continues and becomes more complex and abstract. The development of adolescents’ cognitive functioning, which we learned about in Chapter 13, gives them the ability for abstract thinking, such thinking of various possibilities and versions of themselves in different contexts. While self-description in childhood tends to be in concrete terms, “I have a cat named Socks,“ self-concept in adolescence becomes more trait-focused, “I am honest and talkative.” Ask an adolescent girl to describe herself, she may say, “My friends see me as being outgoing and carefree, but I am actually really anxious and can be shy.” Adolescents are able to make the distinction between how others perceive them and how they view themselves; they are able to describe themselves taking both their own and others’ views into account. (Cole et al., 2001; Updegraff et al., 2004). Due to their increased awareness of themselves, adolescents are able to think about themselves in more comprehensive terms than they did during childhood – they can perceive multiple traits of themselves simultaneously.

Figure 14.1. An adolescent’s understanding of themself is often full of contradictions. (Image on Pixabay)

Adolescent identity is a complex and multifaceted concept that is characterized by a plethora of contradictory understandings of the self. During this developmental stage, young people are trying to make sense of their own identity, trying to figure out who they are, and what their place is in the world. This process is often fraught with tension, as adolescents may hold conflicting beliefs, values, and desires that can be difficult to reconcile. For instance, they may feel a strong need to belong to a peer group while simultaneously wanting to assert their individuality. Additionally, they may struggle to reconcile the expectations and values of their family and community with their own emerging sense of self. These contradictions can lead to confusion and anxiety, but they are also a natural part of the process of identity formation, as adolescents navigate the complex terrain of growing up and figuring out who they are.

The increase in adolescents’ cognitive functioning and abstract thinking also gives them the ability to think about an actual self, who they perceive themselves to be currently, and a possible self, who they perceive they can be potentially (Markus & Nurius, 1986; Oyserman Destin, & Novin, 2015). The possible self can be either positive or negative. The positive possible self is called an ideal self, and this is the person that the adolescent wishes to be, such as getting good grades, graduating, and being accepted to their college of choice. The negative possible self is called a feared self, and this is the person that the adolescent is afraid of becoming, such as a high school drop-out. (Chalk et al., 2005). Having the cognitive ability to think of abstract possible selves can result in either positive or negative psychological impact depending on the self-concept of the adolescent. If the adolescent’s self-concept leads to the belief that there is too great of a difference between their ideal self and their actual self, then this may result in hopelessness and depression. However, having an ideal self can be an incredible motivator for behavior that leads to that ideal self, in the example above such behavior would be attending school, completing assignments, and being attentive and engaged in classes. Having both an ideal self and a feared self can be beneficial to adolescents as a motivator to behave in ways to reach the ideal self and help prevent the feared self. Having these possible selves illustrates adolescents’ growing cognitive abilities which lead to a more abstract self-concept.

14.2.2 Cultural Influences on Self-Concept

Cultural beliefs and values play an important role in the development of self-concept in adolescence. The value that different cultures place on self-reflection and self-knowledge can greatly affect the development of self-concept. Cultures which value individualism and independence, which are referred to as individualistic cultures, can foster the development of sense of self by emphasizing the value of self-reflection and personal accomplishment. Another type of culture, collectivistic cultures, place less value on individualism and more value on collectivism, which puts groups’ needs over individuals’ needs, such as the needs of the family or the community.

Culture can also influence an adolescent’s self-concept by placing value on certain behavior and characteristics over others; this can lead to a more positive or negative self-concept depending on if the adolescent’s characteristics align with those valued by their culture. For example, in a culture like the United States, where independence, assertiveness, and being outgoing are highly valued characteristics may lead to an adolescent who has those characteristics having a more positive self-concept than an adolescent who is shy and reserved.

A sense of belonging, and the self-identity that comes from that, is an important aspect of self-concept. Self-concept can also be influenced by culture if the adolescent is in a marginalized or excluded group, such as being a Black adolescent, or an adolescent with disabilities, in a discriminating community. This can lead to feelings of isolation and being disconnected from community, which can lead to negative impacts on self-concept.

14.2.3 Self-Esteem

While self-concept is the perception of self, such as one’s traits, values, and beliefs, self-esteem refers to self-worth – how much a person values themselves – and can be displayed through confidence in their own abilities, potential, and achievement.

As self-concept develops, so does self-esteem. In addition to the academic, social, appearance, and physical/athletic dimensions of self-esteem in middle and late childhood, teens also add perceptions of their competency in romantic relationships, on the job, and in close friendships (Harter, 2006). Self-esteem often decreases when children transition from one school setting to another, such as shifting from elementary to middle school, or junior high to high school (Ryan, Shim, & Makara, 2013). These decreases are usually temporary, unless there are additional stressors such as parental conflict, or other family disruptions (De Wit, Karioja, Rye, & Shain, 2011). Self-esteem rises from mid to late adolescence for most teenagers, especially if they feel confident in their peer relationships, their appearance, and athletic abilities (Birkeland, Melkivik, Holsen, & Wold, 2012).

14.2.3.1 Family Influences on self-esteem

Adolescence is a crucial time in the development of self-esteem – there are many factors that influence an adolescent’s self-esteem. One of the most important factors that influences an adolescent’s self-esteem is family. Whether or not an adolescent feels supported and loved in their family can impact their self-worth. Family relationships which impact self-esteem not only include parents, but can include siblings as well. If an adolescent has a loving family environment, and feels a sense of emotional security, support and belonging, this will most likely lead to higher self-esteem than an adolescent who does not. Being in a family environment that lacks a sense of security due to constant conflict and criticism, either between parents or siblings, may lead to lower self-esteem. Parents having unrealistic high expectations can also lead to feelings of inadequacy and lower self-esteem.

14.2.3.2 Peer Influences on self-esteem

Being accepted and fitting in social groups is a critical element in adolescent socio-emotional development and peers become an increasingly significant influence on self-esteem. Positive peer influences, such as having close friends who they feel connected to and who provide emotional support and encouragement, can make a positive impact on adolescents’ self-worth leading to higher self-esteem, while not having this social support can lead to feelings of isolation and lower self-esteem.

14.2.3.3 Cognitive Influences on self-esteem

In addition to family and peer influences cognitive factors, such as how adolescents perceive themselves and how they interpret incidents, can also influence self-esteem. If adolescents perceive themselves as being capable, of being liked, and of comparing well in terms of their peer group, then their self-esteem is likely to be higher than adolescents who do not see themselves as being liked or capable, or believe that they are inferior to their peers. There are also cognitive distortions that lead to lower self-esteem, these cognitive distortions are patterns of inaccurate negative thinking, such as personalization (taking things personally when they are in fact not connected to you at all), overgeneralization (generalizing about the outcome of one event to all future events – thinking that if you did poorly on one math quiz then you will keep doing poorly and fail math class), and catastrophizing (assuming the worst will happen). Cognitive distortions like these lead to negative self-talk and lower self-esteem (Shirk, Burwell & Harter, 2003).

14.2.3.4 Cultural Influences on self-esteem

Cultural beliefs and values can influence self-esteem by affecting how people in that culture perceive their worth. Two particularly important cultural beliefs that can influence the self-esteem of adolescents are values of appearance and gender roles. For example, if a culture values males who are tall and have a muscular appearance, then a male adolescent who does not fit this ideal standard may experience lower self-esteem. The same concept applies to cultural values of gender roles. If a culture values females who are outgoing and confident, this ideal may negatively affect the self-esteem of a reserved and timid female adolescent due to not fitting in with the cultural ideal. Research studies have found that adolescent females tend to have lower self-esteem than adolescent males (Baumeister, 1993; Pipher, 1994). Cultural values and beliefs are thought to be one of the contributing factors to this phenomenon –in Western countries the cultural emphasis on physical attractiveness for females contributes to lower self-esteem in those who do not feel like they fit the cultural standards.

Studies have found that different cultures share four key factors that contribute to adolescents’ self-esteem: controlling one’s life, doing one’s duty, benefiting others, and achieving social status (Becker et al., 2014), however the value that is placed individually on these four factors differs by culture. For example, in Western European cultures that value individual freedom, having control over one’s life was the factor that was most associated with high self-esteem. In cultures that value tradition and conformity, such as some Asian or Middle Eastern cultures, the factor that was most associated with high self-esteem is doing one’s duty (Becker et al., 2014).

14.2.3.5 Boosting self-esteem in late adolescence

During late adolescence self-esteem tends to increase (Savin-Williams & Demo, 1983; Harter, 1990). Peer relationships have been found to play an important role in this increase in self-esteem. As we discussed earlier, peer relations are an important influence on self-esteem, and having the emotional support of friends can lead to increased feelings of self-worth and higher self-esteem. The social support of parents and siblings are also important influences on adolescents’ self-esteem (Harter, 1990; Savin-Williams & Demo, 1983). Doing things well in areas that they care about, such as academics, dance, or sports, and receiving recognition from important people in their lives, will increase adolescents’ feelings of self-worth. Having the emotional support, encouragement, and praise from these important peer and family relationships is an important contributor to self-esteem in late adolescence, as is highlighting and reinforcing the domains in which they are doing well.