The developmental trajectories of trait hope and self-esteem in adolescence

We examined, over four years, the developmental trajectory of adolescent trait hope and self-esteem over four years and the impact of gender and perceived parental styles on these trajectories. Participants were 884 high school students. There was a general decline in hope and self-esteem over time, with females declining more rapidly than males. Girls had higher hope than boys in Grade 7, but lower hope by Grade 10. Perceived parental authoritativeness at Time 1 was related to high hope across the four years, whilst perceived parental authoritarianism was related to low self-esteem. We discuss research into personality change, the importance of perceived parental styles for adolescent well-being, and possible explanations for changes in hope and self-esteem over the teenage years.