Gloriya, N.M.Niroshini, S.2022-10-042022-10-042021978-624-5856-04-6http://www.erepo.lib.uwu.ac.lk/bitstream/handle/123456789/9728/Page%20288%20-%20IRCUWU2021%20-%20260%20-%20N.M.%20Gloriya%20-%20The%20Effect%20of%20Gender%20Identity%20on%20Self-Esteem%20among%20Young%20Adults.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=ySocial identity is being recognized as perceived self-concept of an individual based on the social group that they are belong to. Favorable comparison between persons automatically increase the self- esteem of them. People always contemplate on the emotions of their relatives (in-group) and resisting the emotions of others (out-group). Even though the theory of social identity explains the positive side of the intergroup discrimination and biasness, it does not sufficiently represent the negative of them and the symmetry is missing. Further there are only a few researches has been undertaken on the influence gender has on self-esteem among young adults and the results obtained are not significant as well. Therefore, the study on effect of the gender difference on self-esteem among the young adults in central province is performed to examine whether the gender identity of a person affects his/her self-esteem. A quantitative study was conducted by using convenient sampling to collect the sample of 100 young adults from central province have been selected for the study and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used to get scores of the self-esteem. The major findings were statistically analyzed using tables and a graph using SPSS Statistics Data Editor. With the overall results it was observable that men had a good self-esteem than women. However, the results obtained were found to be insignificant according to the t-test conducted. Therefore, the study concludes with the idea that self-esteem is not influenced by the gender identity as supporting the previous findings. Keywords: Gender identity; Self-esteem; Social identity; Young adultsenGender EquityGender StudySocial ScienceSociologyHumanities, Social & Library SciencesOther