Analysing the self-esteem level of adolescents with divorced parents

The purpose of this study is to examine the self-esteem level of single-parent adolescents. Accordingly, the aim of the study is to examine the self-esteem of adolescents with divorced parents who has to live with single parent according to sub-dimensions of Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and demographic variables of adolescents. The study was conducted on 140 single-parent students enrolled at 10 different schools in Nicosia, Northern Cyprus. In the study Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and personal information form prepared by the researcher were used in order to measure self-esteem and demographic features of students, respectively. According to study results, self-esteem level of adolescents with divorced parents was found as “low” among the intervals titled “very low”, “low”, “medium”, “high”, and “very high”. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale scores of single parent adolescents were lowest at such sub-dimensions as continuity of self-concept, feeling trust towards people, psychosomatic symptoms, relations with father and psychic isolation. The highest scores were obtained at sensitivity towards criticism, depressive affectivity and parent interest sub-dimensions. No statistically significant difference was detected between such variables as whether father or mother remarried and with whom they lived at the moment as for their self-esteem level. However, it was found out that those adolescents who received psychological assistance had higher self-esteem compared to adolescents who did not. Statistically significant differences were found between sub-dimensions of the scale and such demographic variables of adolescents with divorced parents as their age, with whom they live, their seeing frequency of mother and father, whether they received psychological assistance and whether their father or mother remarried. However, no statistically significant difference was found between their gender and sub-dimensions of the scale.