Subjective youthfulness is linked to psychological adjustment, including self-esteem; however, the conditions under which this association varies remain unclear. We examined whether female identity moderates the relationship between subjective youthfulness and self-esteem. An online survey was conducted with 300 Japanese women. Multiple regression analysis was performed with self-esteem as the dependent variable and subjective youthfulness, female identity, their interaction term, mental health, and demographic variables as independent variables. Results indicated that greater subjective youthfulness was associated with higher self-esteem, and this association was significantly moderated by female identity. Specifically, the positive link between subjective youthfulness and self-esteem was stronger among women with lower female identity than among those with higher female identity. For women strongly identifying with their gender, subjective youthfulness may be more closely tied to gendered norms and evaluative standards, thereby attenuating its association with self-esteem. Subjective youthfulness may operate as either a personal resource or a norm-based standard, depending on gender identification.
Yuho Shimizu (Thu,) studied this question.
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