Press
Release: U of M Researcher Finds Materialism in Children
and Adolescents Linked to Self-Esteem
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/26/2007) – Peer pressure,
targeted marketing campaigns, and bad parenting have
all been blamed for increasing materialism in
children. Until now, there has been little evidence
showing when this drive for material goods emerges in
kids and what really causes it. In one of the first
studies to focus on the development of materialism
among children, Deborah Roedder John, a professor of
marketing at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson
School of Management, reveals that a young person’s
level of materialism is directly connected to their
self-esteem.
In the recent paper “
Growing
up in a Material World: Age Differences in Materialism
in Children and Adolescents,” in the December 2007
issue of the
Journal of Consumer Research,
John and co-author Lan Nguyen Chaplin, assistant
professor of marketing at the University of Illinois
and a Carlson doctoral alum,
report the results of two studies conducted with
children in three age groups. In the first study, they
found that materialism increases from middle childhood
(8–9 years old) to early adolescence (12–13 years),
but then declines by the end of high school (16–18
years). This mirrors patterns in self-esteem, which
instead decreases in early adolescence but increases
in late adolescence.
“The level of materialism in teens is directly driven
by self-esteem,” says John. “When self-esteem drops as
children enter adolescence, materialism peaks. Then by
late adolescence, when self-esteem rebounds, their
materialism drops.”
In a second study, John and Chaplin boosted
self-esteem by giving children positive information
about peer acceptance. Children were given paper
plates with positive descriptors about them, such as
smart and fun, which were provided by their peers in a
summer camp setting. This seemingly small gesture
drastically reduced the high levels of materialism
found among 12–13 year olds and the moderate levels of
materialism found among 16–18 year olds.
“Particularly relevant,” states John, “is the fact
that by simply increasing self-esteem in teens, we see
a decreased focus on material goods that parallels
that of young children. While peers and marketing can
certainly influence teens, materialism is directly
connected to self-esteem.”
For parents interested in instilling positive values
in their children and teens, the message is clear:
encouraging a sense of self-worth among young people
can reduce the emphasis on material goods. In other
words, more self-esteem, fewer $150 athletic shoes and
$250 purses!
