Adolescent Self-Consciousness:
Longitudinal Age Changes and Gender Differences in Two Cohorts
Jane L. Rankin, David J. Lane,
Frederick X. Gibbons, Meg Gerrard
(2000) Journal of Research on
Adolescence, 14, 1-21.
Adolescence is frequently
described as a period of pervasive self-consciousness, but an age-related peak
in adolescence is not consistently obtained, and higher self-consciousness in
girls is frequently obtained but not predicted by theoretical accounts. Two cohorts of adolescents (N = 393),
initially assessed at 13 and 15, completed public and private
self-consciousness measures 3 times in 4 years.
They also reported social comparisons and social engagement. Public self-consciousness decreased and
private self-consciousness increased in both cohorts, and girls scored higher
on both measures, both in longitudinal and sibling replication samples (n =
188). Public self-consciousness appears to be a normative response to
adolescent social challenges, with girls’ higher levels largely attributable to
their closer social engagement. Private
self-consciousness emerges as an individual difference in adolescence but is
more likely to be salient and predictive of social behavior in adulthood.