Abstract:
The study sought to investigate the influence of socio-economic background
on self-esteem of female adolescent students in the Ho Municipality in the
Volta Region of Ghana. The study employed a descriptive survey design with
the quantitative approach. A sample of 400 female adolescent Senior High
School students were used for the study. The participants were selected using
the simple random and purposive sampling procedures. A close-ended type
questionnaire developed by the researcher was used and it comprised three (3)
sections (A-C) containing 30 items. Data were analysed using inferential
statistics (ANOVA, Chi-square (χ2), independent samples t-test) and
descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, frequencies and
percentages). The study revealed that female adolescent students in the Ho
Municipality had high self-esteem. Furthermore, it was revealed that their selfesteem
was not different based on their age category. The findings of the
study indicated that adolescent girls understood who they were through
counselling and parental advice and related positively with their peers which
improved their self-esteem. It was therefore recommended that female
adolescent students be guided through life irrespective of their background.
Again, the adolescents should be helped to build their self-esteem and this
may be included in their social studies curriculum.
