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The Effect of Relative Age on Self-Esteem, Role Strain, GPA, and Anxiety

Loyola College in Maryland

Being older rather than younger than most of one's classmates is presumed to provide benefits to students at least throughout elementary school. The present study investigated this relative age hypothesis among students before and after the transition to middle school with respect to self-esteem, school strain, grade point average (GPA), and anxiety. Partial correlation analyses, with father's education controlled, showed that relative age was associated positively with self-esteem and negatively with strain during fifth and sixth grade. Separate analyses showed these relationships for females but not for males. The influence of father's education was particularly pronounced among the youngest subjects with respect to strain and GPA. Results suggest that the potentially detrimental effects of being relatively young carry on into middle school and that younger early adolescents whose parents have relatively little education are most at risk.

The Journal of Early Adolescence, Vol. 12, No. 3, 253-266 (1992)
DOI: 10.1177/0272431692012003002


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