A study of gender differences on mental health and self-esteem among school children of Jammu city

Adolescence is a period in which children are at very sensitive age of their life and show more risk-taking behavior. It is critical stage of developmental task as it includes creation of an organized and encouraging sense of self. The aim of the present is to find out the gender differences and relationship on the domains of mental health and self-esteem among school children. A total sample of 200 school children was collected for the present study. Convenience sampling technique was used for the data collection. Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale was used for measuring self-esteem and general health questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used for mental health. Pearson correlation and t-test were applied for statistical analysis. Findings of the study revealed there was non-significant gender difference on the variable of self-esteem, but mean value show minor difference on the variable. The mean score of boys was higher on self-esteem than girls. While the domain of mental health shows significant difference in the score and mean score of boys was higher than girls.  Mental health has positive correlation with self-esteem.