FRIDAY, Jan. 30, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Growing older may mean more than getting gray hair and wrinkles -- it can also sap your self-esteem, says a Canadian study in the February issue of the Journal of Aging Studies.
"We live in a culture of youth where being young is prized and idealized," study co-author John Cairney, a University of Toronto sociologist, says in a prepared statement.
"When you're talking about self-esteem, your body image is an important part of that perception," Cairney says.
He and a colleague analyzed data from a telephone survey of 17,626 people. The researchers compared each person's self-reported level of self-esteem to their gender, social class (household income, marital status, education), and age.
Along with age, income levels also affected self esteem. The study found people with low incomes experienced a greater drop in self-esteem after they reached middle age than people with middle to high incomes.
"A person's sense of self-worth is probably linked, to a certain degree, on how economically or socially successful they are. Living in this society, being economically advantaged may have a positive impact on a person's sense of who they are. It's a marker of success," Cairney says.
There is a way to counter this age-related decline in self-esteem.
"It's about changing negative perceptions and stereotypes associated with gender and age," Cairney says.
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