The article discusses two aspects of the problem: first, from the point of view of the mechanisms for self-evaluation and protection of a certain level of self-esteem, and second, in the framework of the life span psychology. The author presents results of an original research of the factors influencing specific features of self-esteem: retrospective evaluation of parents’ sensitivity, somatic status, age and social context. She analyses the ways the subject maintains his or her self-esteem at an acceptable level, which counteract the negative impact of some conditions (health and age status). She also discusses changes in young adults’ self-evaluation for the last twenty years.