Self-perception in early childhood and self-esteem in adulthood are related to a variety of aspects of psychological wellbeing. The goal of the present study was to examine genetic and familial influences on self-perception and self-esteem in separate samples of children (153 twin pairs of 5-year-olds) and adults (753 twin pairs between the ages of 25–75 years). Genetic common factor modeling showed that three facets of self-perception (physical competence, peer acceptance, and maternal acceptance) loaded onto a single heritable factor in children. Multilevel modeling showed no effects of self or co-twin sex on self-perception, but authoritative parenting style was negatively related to self-perception in boys. Similarly, in Study 2, with the adult sample, five self-esteem items loaded on a single heritable factor with no effects of co-twin sex on adult self-esteem. Remembered maternal affection, paternal affection, and maternal discipline were positively related to self-esteem in adults; maternal affection was especially significant for women. The reversal in direction of parenting effects between early childhood and adulthood suggests that parents may play different roles in shaping how children and adults think of themselves. These results suggest that self-perception in childhood and self-esteem in adulthood are both influenced by genetic and environmental factors and that parenting is an important environmental factor for both children and adults.

幼儿期的自我认知和成年期的自尊与心理健康的多个方面有关。本研究的目的是在儿童（153对5岁的双胞胎）和成人（753对年龄在25-75岁之间的双胞胎）的单独样本中检查遗传和家庭对自我认知和自尊的影响。年）。遗传共同因素模型表明，自我认知的三个方面（身体能力、同伴接受度和母亲接受度）会影响儿童的单一遗传因素。多层次模型显示，自身或双胞胎性别对自我认知没有影响，但权威养育方式与男孩的自我认知呈负相关。同样，在研究 2 中，对于成人样本，五个自尊项目加载在单个遗传因素上，同卵双胞胎性别对成人自尊没有影响。记得的母爱、父爱和母性管教与成年人的自尊呈正相关；母爱对于女性来说尤其重要。幼儿期和成年期之间养育效应方向的逆转表明，父母在塑造儿童和成人如何看待自己方面可能扮演着不同的角色。这些结果表明，童年时期的自我认知和成年时期的自尊都受到遗传和环境因素的影响，养育方式对于儿童和成人来说都是一个重要的环境因素。