%0 Journal Article
%T Implicit Self-Esteem Decreases in Adolescence: A Cross-Sectional Study
%A Huajian Cai
%A Mingzheng Wu
%A Yu L. L. Luo
%A Jing Yang
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2014
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0089988
%X Implicit self-esteem has remained an active research topic in both the areas of implicit social cognition and self-esteem in recent decades. The purpose of this study is to explore the development of implicit self-esteem in adolescents. A total of 599 adolescents from junior and senior high schools in East China participated in the study. They ranged in age from 11 to 18 years with a mean age of 14.10 (SD = 2.16). The degree of implicit self-esteem was assessed using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) with the improved D score as the index. Participants also completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (¦Á = 0.77). For all surveyed ages, implicit self-esteem was positively biased, all ts>8.59, all ps<0.001. The simple correlation between implicit self-esteem and age was significant, r = £¿.25, p = 1.0¡Á10£¿10. A regression with implicit self-esteem as the criterion variable, and age, gender, and age ¡Á gender interaction as predictors further revealed the significant negative linear relationship between age and implicit self-esteem, ¦Â = £¿0.19, t = £¿3.20, p = 0.001. However, explicit self-esteem manifested a reverse ¡°U¡± shape throughout adolescence. Implicit self-esteem in adolescence manifests a declining trend with increasing age, suggesting that it is sensitive to developmental or age-related changes. This finding enriches our understanding of the development of implicit social cognition.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0089988