Children's Low Self-Esteem Linked to Materialism: Study
November 26, 2007
Low self-esteem in youngsters can increase their desire for consumer goods, says a U.S. study that found that materialism increases from age 8 or 9 to age 12 or 13, but then decreases by the time children are ages 16 to 18, CBC News reported.
"The level of materialism in teens is directly driven by self-esteem," study author Deborah Roedder John, a University of Minnesota marketing professor, said in a prepared statement. "When self-esteem drops as children enter adolescence, materialism peaks. Then by late adolescence, when self-esteem rebounds, their materialism drops."
John and a colleague asked 50 children in different age groups what makes them happy and found that those aged 12 to 13 were most likely to say materialistic items such as money and brand-name clothing. Younger and older children were more likely to say that friends or not having any homework made them happy, CBC News reported.
Physical changes that occur in early adolescence can cause low self-esteem in youngsters. That often coincides with entry into high school where the children are "the youngest and least important members of the school," John noted.
The study is published in the December issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.
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