Global and dimensional self-esteem in preadolescent and early adolescent children who are overweight: age and gender differences.

OBJECTIVE

To examine age and gender differences in global and dimensional self-esteem in children who are overweight.

METHOD

As part of a pretreatment assessment, the Perceived Competence Scale for Children was completed by 121 children (ages 8-14) who were overweight and enrolling in a weight reduction program.

RESULTS

Gender differences in general self-esteem and age differences in physical self-esteem were found. Also, girls who were highly overweight reported lower physical self-esteem than girls who were moderately overweight. However, for boys, the opposite pattern emerged. For both boys and girls, cognitive and social self-esteem predicted general self-esteem and physical self-esteem did not.

DISCUSSION

Children who are overweight may emphasize dimensions of their self-esteem in nongender stereotyped ways that are protective of their general self-esteem. Understanding developmental trends and gender differences in self-esteem can enhance our ability to assist youth who are overweight in maintaining favorable self-evaluations.