International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research__________________________________ ISSN 2277 -3630 IJSSIR, Vol. 2 (8), AUGUST (2013) Online available at indianresearchjournals.com 114 GENDER DIFFERENCE IN PRE-ADOLESCENTS’ SELF-ESTEEM DR. ABHISHEK KR. BHARDWAJ*; DR. GAURAV AGRAWAL** *SCIENTIST, DEPARTMENT OF YOG RESEARCH, PATANJALI YOGPEETH, HARIDWAR, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA **ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, DEV SANSKRITI UNIVERSITY, HARIDWAR, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT The aim of the present investigation was to study the self-esteem of the pre-adolescent children and to see the gender differences between males and females in that early age. One hundred students (50 males and 50 females), with ages between 9 and 12 years (group mean ± S.D., 10.3 ± 1.2 years) were selected as the participants for this study. All of them were students who were studying in std. fifth to std. seven, in a school in the north India. For the baseline assessment of self-esteem, Indian Adaptation of Battle’s Self-Esteem Inventory for Children was used. The study was a onetime assessment, with a cross-sectional design. Signed consent was taken from the teachers of participants before data collection. Data of male and female students was compared by unpaired t-test. Significant differences were not found in total, social, academic and parental self-esteem when data of male participants were compared with the female participants but the general self-esteem of females was found to be higher than males (p<0.05). In conclusion, there wasn’t any gender differences found in the overall self-esteem in the pre- adolescence period. KEYWORDS: Self-esteem Pre-adolescence Gender differences Introduction: In social psychology, self-esteem is an important measure because researchers have conceptualized it as an influential predictor of various outcomes, such as academic achievement and behaviour. According to Branden (1987), self-esteem is the sum of self-confidence and self- respect. It can be understood as a consequence of the subjective judgment that every person makes of his ability to face life's challenges, to understand and solve problems, and his right to achieve happiness, and be given respect. Moreover, self-esteem has also been thought as an important outcome due to its close relation with psychological well-being of children (Branden, 1987). Subjective experiences in a person's life are chief contributors in self-esteem development. The good and bad life experiences create attitudes toward the self which can be favourable and develop positive feelings of self-worth, otherwise same can be unfavourable and develop negative feelings of self-worth. In the initial years of a child's life, parents cause the most significant influence on the self-esteem and remain the chief source of positive and/or negative experiences a child will have. The emphasis of unconditional love from the parents has