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Do women have as much self esteem as men?

A Swiss researcher has found there is no significant difference in women and men’s self esteem in adolescence and young adults. I don’t think this study will eliminate sayings like “you throw like a girl” but it could go along way in clearing up misconceptions that men have more feelings of self worth than women, which is a leading cause in self esteem issues.

Basel University reviewed data from young adults section of the national longitudinal survey of youth from the United States to see how young people’s self esteem developed over time. the sample was of 7100 people 14-30 of age of which forty-nine percent were female, was assessed every two years from 1994-2008. overall, 37% were white, 32% black, 20% Hispanic and 11% other.

the researchers looked at fiver personality traits – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism – all affects self esteem. They also considered “sense of mastery” which is perception of control over ones life, risk taking tendencies, gender, ethnicity, health and income.

the surprise was the science team didnt find any major difference between male and female’s self esteem.