Gender identity and self-esteem in adolescent and adult females: the moderating effects of the importance of feminine identity

Self-esteem is individual's positive or negative attitude toward the self based on selfevaluations. Lifespan research reveals that female's self-esteem is lowest during adolescence. One explanation for this can be derived from the gender intensification hypothesis which proposes that during adolescence there is an increase in gender congruent socialization. This may lead adolescent females to place greater importance on their feminine identity. On the other hand, among adult females, self-esteem has been shown to increase. Some have suggested that this may be due to females' deviation from traditional gender roles, perhaps as a result of a decrease in the importance placed on feminine identity. To date no research has examined the importance of feminine identity as a predictor of the drop in self-esteem in adolescence and subsequent increase during adulthood. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the importance of feminine identity as a moderator of the relationship between gender identity and self-esteem in adolescent and adult females. It was hypothesized that (1) adolescent females would palace greater importance on feminine identity than adult females, (2) feminine and androgynous adolescents would have higher self-esteem than masculine adolescents, (3) masculine adults would have higher self-esteem than feminine adults, and (4) the importance of feminine identity would moderate the relationship between gender identity and self-esteem. A total of 395 adolescent and adult females completed a survey that addressed these hypotheses. Results of the analyses reveal that there are differences in self-esteem based on age, gender identity, and importance of feminine identity. In addition, there is evidence that suggests that importance of feminine identity moderates the relationship between gender identity and selfesteem for the adolescent sample, but not for the adult sample. Implications of the results are discussed. Keywords: self-esteem, gender identity, gender intensification hypothesis, adolescence, female