Self-esteem is how a person views him or herself. Developing a healthy self-esteem begins during early years. As children grow their social experiences and encounters with success and failure shape their self-esteem.[1] Youth with low self-esteem are more likely to have poor mental and physical health, poor economic prospects, and higher levels of criminal behaviour during adulthood.[2]
| Youth who report high levels of self-esteem |
About the MeasureThis measure is collected from the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) Youth Survey that gathers self-reported well-being data from grade 7 and 10 students. To determine high or low levels of self-esteem, students are asked how much they agree with the following statements:
Students' responses to the above statements are totalled and then given a high or low Self-Esteem score. Key FindingsAcross the three Youth Survey cycles, more grade 7 than grade 10 students reported high levels of self-esteem. More males than females and non-binary students reported high levels of self-esteem. Overall, the percentage of students reporting high self-esteem has decreased since 2011-12 (not shown in graph). Data over time and at the municipal level can be found in the downloadable Excel file.
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Source: WDG Youth Survey, 2017-18. WDG Report Card Coalition. Last updated August 2, 2018. LimitationsThe WDG Youth Survey collects self-reported data and is subject to response and recall bias. One question used to calculate self-esteem has changed with each cycle of the WDG Youth Survey. Differences between cycles may, in part, be due to these changes.
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[1] Public Health Agency of Canada. (2012). Book 5: Self-esteem. Ottawa, ON: Public Health Agency of Canada. Available at: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/dca-dea/publications/ffc-ief/book-livre-5-eng.php#attachment
[2] Trzesniewski, K. H., Donnellan, M. B., Moffitt, T. E., Robins, R. W., Poulton, R., & Caspi, A. (2006). Low self-esteem during adolescence predicts poor health, criminal behavior, and limited economic prospects during adulthood. Developmental psychology, 42(2), 381.