The Development of Self Image in Childhood and Adolescence.

The purpose of this study was to provide empirical support for a general developmental approach to self concept and to investigate a specific aspect of self concept: the ideal self image. It was hypothesized that the ideal self image would become more differentiated and the content of the ideal self image would become more realistic with age. One-hundred-thirty-one subjects were chosen from fifth, eighth and eleventh grade. The grades chosen correspond to developmental stages in which self concept change is likely, namely middle childhood, early and late adolescence. Two primary measures were used: the Katz-Zigler Self Image Questionnaire and a new, twenty item self image scale. The questionnaire generated scores corresponding to three hypothesized aspects of the ideal self image: the idealized self, the committed self and the moral self image. The self image scale generated realistic/unrealistic goal scores. The reliability and validity of the measures were assessed. Analysis of variance for repeated measures tests were then conducted to evaluate the hypotheses. Significant age by measure interactions (p < .001) provided support for the hypothesis of greater self image differentiation with age. A closer analysis of the data indicated that significant change in the level of differentiation occurred only between middle childhood and early adolescence. No support was found for the hypothesis that the content of the ideal self image become more realistic with age. Significant decreases were found in the level of real self, idealized self and committed self image during early adolescence. The data showed a significant positive and linear relationship (p < .001) between age and moral self image. Girls were found to evidence greater ideal self differentiation than boys in middle childhood and early adolescence. Evidence was also presented to suggest that the impact of social desirability on the assessment of self concept has been overstated in the literature.PhDEducational psychologyDevelopmental psychologyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/158952/1/8224905.pd