Self-esteem adjusts to a more realistic level that matches the opinions of others as well as objective performance.
Typically, the drop in self-esteem is not great enough to be harmful. In fact, from fourth grade on, self-esteem rises for the majority of young people. The only exceptions to this trend are a temporary decline in self-worth associated with the transition to junior high school and, occasionally, to high school. Entry into a new school, accompanied by new expectations by teachers and peers, may interfere with adolescents’ ability to make realistic judgments about their behaviour and performance for a period of time.
This steady increase in self-esteem is yet another reason that modern researchers question the widespread assumption-that adolescence is a time of emotional turmoil. To the contrary, the rise in self-worth suggests that for most young people, becoming an adolescent leads to feelings of pride and self-confidence.