Gender differences in developmental pathways on self-evaluation from adolescence into adulthood: the Flanders longitudinal study.

The aim of this study was to look for possible gender differences in self-evaluation in adolescence, young adulthood, and full adulthood. Subjects were interviewed at three stages: in adolescence, 8 years, and 15 years later. Hypotheses were: (a) The connection between self-evaluation in adolescence and in adulthood is stronger in girls than in boys. However, for both boys and girls there is a strong connection between young adulthood and full adulthood ("the self-evaluation-triad" hypothesis); (b) The "schooling" factor has a different effect on the self-evaluation triad for boys and girls. Results showed that different psychosocial developmental pathways apply to boys and girls. Also, working girls with a negative self-evaluation in adolescence were more vulnerable to negative self-evaluation in adulthood.