Self-Concept of Adolescence

Iesha Clark Psy 150 OL Psy 150

What is self-concept? What is adolescence? Well self-concept is the idea or mental image one has of oneself and ones strengths, weaknesses, status, and etcof their self-image. The way you view yourself and your capabilities is called a self-concept. Examples of self-concept could be, I am a sociable person, I can solve any problem, I am fat, I am unattractive, and I am clumsy. Adolescence is a period or stage of development, as of a society, preceding maturity. It is also an important period of life. In the article A Study of Self-Concepts of the Adolescents, Dr. Raj Kumar Saraswat did a questionnaire scale on boys and girls about self-concept. The scale consisted of exactly 48 items. The concept of the questionnaire was to test the hypothesis, and the drawings of the interference from that data that was collected from the test that was used. In the article, Dr. Raj Kumar Saraswat stated that Self-Concept us a dominant element in a personality pattern, and therefore, the measurement of self-concept becomes essential. Selfconcept can also signify someones thinking, feelings, and behavior. Self- concept includes five dimensions; social, moral, family, personal, and physical. These five dimensions influence our sense of inendity. There are several factors that shape self-concept, including an individuals observation of ones own behavior, which is often involved by the social comparisons of others.

The objectives of the research study, is to compare the self-concept between boys and girls. To compare the educational, physical, moral, social, temperamental, and intellectual concept among boys and girls. The study consisted of 50 students that were picked at random from secondary schools of Jalgaon city. All of the students were between the ages of 13 to 19 years old. The questionnaire that was given was based on the six dimensions: educational, social, temperamental, physical, intellectual, and moral. Those are the tools that are used for the questionnaire. Each dimension has eight items. When the questionnaire was completed, it was checked and given a score of a 5, 4, 3, 2, or a 1, determining whether the items are positive or negative. When the research/questionnaire was completed, it was discovered that 70% of the students have a self-concept that is above average, and 30% of students have a self-concept that is high above average. This means that 35 students are above average, and 15 are higher above average. In this research study, it is found that there is no significant difference between any of the various dimensions for self-concept of adolescent for boys and girls. This may be because the boys and girls of this study think positive about themselves, which is a good indicator of social equality. Another reason may also be because the education, home, and school is a positive environment for the development of oneself. In this article, I learned that your self-concept of yourself does not always have to be bad. It can mean many things, and also deal with many things that surround you during your day-today activities. I also learned that a boy and a girl self-concept are not entirely different for each other. In fact, it is rather close. Although boys and girls are both concerned about body image (their concept of, and attitude toward, their physical appearance), girls also worry more than

boys about appearance and weight after puberty. That there are dimensions to self-concept and that there are several factors that shape concept as well. Overall I would say that the original sample is false, while a lot of the kids may think highly of themselves there are some who do not and may not wish to tell the truth in the study for fear of reprisal from their peers and having to rely on a persons word makes this study unreliable. This study goes to show that the students surveyed think about themselves in a positive manner they have high standards and are not down on themselves; however this is only a small sample and should not be misconstrued to mean that all teens are like this. The teens sampled in this study may have better social lives, home lives, or come from wealthier families. In my opinion I think that a bigger sample is needed from different teens ones that live in poorer neighborhoods or small towns and compare those to the other results and that will give a more accurate percentage of the teens self-concept about themselves. In my opinion it is hard to put a score on self-concept while we may not be happy with whom we are sometimes it is up to us as individuals to change what we dont like or live with ourselves as we are.

Works Cited

Khirade, S. K. (2012). A Study of Self Concepts of the Adolescents. Indian Streams Research Journal, 2(8), 1-6.