Influence of Childhood Adverse Experiences and Resilience on Self-esteem in Early Adulthood

Abstract

Students belonging to modern-day India often struggle with self-esteem issues; childhood plays a big role in influencing how individuals develop effective coping strategies that lead to a healthy self-concept later in life. This study attempts to understand how self-esteem is influenced by childhood adverse experiences and what role resilience plays in the development of self-esteem in young adults. 117 students from Christ University were tested using Wagnild & Young’s Resilience Scale, the WHO’s ACE-IQ Questionnaire and these were correlated with their Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem scores. The study adopted a correlational design and tested the relationship between variables using Spearman’s rho correlation. Linear regression was conducted between resilience and self-esteem to test for prediction. The results indicated a moderate positive correlation between resilience and self-esteem but did not show a statistically significant relationship between childhood adverse experiences and self-esteem. Regression analysis showed a prediction of approximately 30% between resilience and self-esteem indicating that resilience is a small but significant contributor in the development of self-esteem in early adulthood. The study allows an understanding of these relationships in the Indian context and paves the way for further research and the development of resilience building exercises to be implemented in the Indian educational context.