The impact of resilience on adolescents’ self-esteem in Norwegian adolescents

Abstract

Background: The present study investigates gender differences on resilience and self-esteem as well as the association between five resilience dimensions (personal competence, structured style, social competence, social resources, family cohesion) and self-esteem, controlled for age and perceived stress. Methods: The cross-sectional sample consists of 1239 adolescents 13-18 years from Mid-Norway. The participants responded on the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale, The Adolescent Stress Questionnaire and The Resilience Scale for Adolescents. Results: Boys reported significantly higher mean scores than girls on self-esteem and on all resilience dimensions except social competence. Girls had higher mean scores than boys on perceived stress. Stress was significantly negatively associated with self-esteem in both genders, especially in girls. All resilience dimensions were positively and significantly associated with self-esteem controlled for age and perceived stress for both genders. However, all associations were stronger for girls than for boys. Discussion: The results support that resilience is an important resource in association with self-esteem in adolescents controlled for stress, especially for girls.