Influence of socio-economic background on the self – Esteem of adolescent girls in senior high school in the Ho municipality

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.