Over 40 and Totally Worthy - TestYourself Research Shows That Older Women Have Better Self-esteem Than Younger Women

TestYourself.com's latest study indicates that for women, self-esteem and self-love tend to get better with age.

MONTREAL, CANADA (MARKETWIRE) -- September 25, 2012

TestYourself.com, a pioneer in online personality, IQ, and career tests, has released its newest study comparing the self-esteem of women of different ages. TestYourself's research reveals that the struggle many young women go through to love and accept themselves may actually get easier with time and experience.

Building self-esteem is like going through a gauntlet: it can and will take a battering with the many trials life can bring. Young women in particular are bombarded with messages of how they're supposed to look, dress and even smell like. Every faux pas and every rejection can be a heavy blow to a growing yet fragile self-esteem. The good news is, the latest research from TestYourself shows that by age 40, most women have learned to accept and love themselves just as they are.

"Our research reveals that self-esteem is at its lowest below the age of 18," explains Dr. Ilona Jerabek, president of PsychTests. "It seems to peak between the ages of 18-24, drops again in the mid to late twenties, and then steadily increases after that. The very early years and the time around which women build a career and more meaningful personal relationships are very crucial milestones where the potential for rejection is very high…so self-esteem can fluctuate a great deal. We have to point out this wasn't a longitudinal study, but we can extrapolate some very interesting information."

And as women age, TestYourself's study indicates that they learn to be less self-critical. According to TestYourself's research:

• 54% of women below 18 and 70% of women over 40 are comfortable admitting their mistakes.
• 43% of women below 18 feel that they must prove themselves worthy in a romantic relationship, or they may never find love (compared to 23% of women over 40).
• 21% of women below 18 believe that being themselves isn't good enough…people still won't like them (compared to 11% of women over 40).
• 41% of women below 18 are afraid of being rejected by their friends, compared to 27% of women over 40.
• 28% of women below 18 said that they feel "worthless and useless", compared to 16% of women over 40.
• 21% of women below 18 believe that they will never amount to anyone significant, or do anything significant, compared to 15% of women over 40.
• 20% of women below 18 believe that they are a failure, compared to 15% of women over 40.
• 33% of women below 18 believe that they will only be respected if they are attractive and successful, compared to 23% of women over 40.
• 20% of women below 18 feel that other people's opinion of them is more important than their own opinion of themselves, compared to 16% of women over 40.
• 25% of women below 18 regularly question whether others still love them, compared to 17% of women over 40.
• 41% of women below 18 avoid arguments with others for fear of being disliked, compared to 34% of women over 40.
• 26% of women below 18 try to change their personality, appearance, and opinions in order to be accepted by others, compared to 19% of women over 40.
• 11% of women below 18 feel that they don't deserve love and respect, compared to 6% of women over 40.

"Self-esteem can take years to build - or re-build," concludes Dr. Jerabek. "It's like a living entity that we need to develop, nurture, and sometimes heal. Women over 40 still struggle with self-esteem issues, but experience has taught them, and will teach young women, that self-love can never come from something outside of themselves - no matter how many successes they have, or how many times they hear 'I love you'. Self-esteem comes from self: from the realization that we are truly amazing women, no matter what."

Those interested in assessing their self-esteem and getting advice on how to improve it can take the Self-Esteem Test at:
https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3102

About TestYourself.psychtests.com
TestYourself.com is a subsidiary of PsychTests AIM Inc. TestYourself.com is a site that creates an interactive venue for self-exploration with a healthy dose of fun. The site offers a full range of professional-quality, scientifically-validated psychological assessments that empower people to grow and reach their real potential through insightful feedback and detailed, custom-tailored analysis.

About Psychtests AIM Inc.
PsychTests AIM Inc. originally appeared on the internet scene in 1996. Since its inception, it has become a pre-eminent provider of psychological assessment products and services to human resource personnel, therapists, academics, researchers and a host of other professionals around the world. PsychTests AIM Inc. staff is comprised of a dedicated team of psychologists, test developers, researchers, statisticians, writers, and artificial intelligence experts. The company's research division, Plumeus Inc., is supported in part by Research and Development Tax Credit awarded by Industry Canada.

Contact:
Psychtests AIM Inc.
Ilona Jerabek, Ph.D., President
https://testyourself.psychtests.com/
1-888-855-6975
ilona@psychtests.com