Open AccessTransition to middle school: Self-concept changes
Author(s) -
Wanesa Onetti-Onetti,
José Carlos Fernández-García,
Alfonso Castillo-Rodríguez
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0212640
Subject(s) - self concept , psychology , developmental psychology , dimension (graph theory) , variance (accounting) , identity (music) , transition (genetics) , social psychology , mathematics , physics , biochemistry , chemistry , accounting , acoustics , pure mathematics , business , gene
Self-concept influences identity and the way that people behave, and it fluctuates over time. The main purpose of this study was to analyze fluctuations in the dimensions of self-concept as a function of gender, educational level, grade, age, physical activity, and weight. In total, 712 Spanish adolescents who were in the 5 th and 8 th grades (354 boys and 358 girls) and 10 to 14 years old ( M = 11.9; SD = 1.3) participated in this study. The Self-Concept Questionnaire, Form 5 was used to analyze several dimensions of self-concept (academic, social, emotional, family, and physical), using the average scores in each dimension. The data showed strong differences in the dimensions of self-concept during the school transition. Middle-school students, compared to elementary-school students, showed significantly lower levels in almost all dimensions (academic, social, family, and physical). Furthermore, student age was a negative predictor of the social and academic dimensions, explaining 33% and 37% of the variance, respectively. Educational level and grade were smaller factors influencing the academic dimension (explaining 29% and 25% of the variance, respectively). The main findings revealed that the school transition and, specifically, increased age were associated with a lower self-concept. These results help us understand the need to strengthen psychological and educational self-concept at school.