Self-esteem is an essential part of human beings and an important benchmark of psychological well-being (Clay, Vignoles, & Dittmar, 2005; Tirlea, Truby, & Haines, 2013). A complex combination of factors influence self-esteem (defined as an individual’s overall positive or negative feelings of worth) including self-evaluation based on success, appearance, intelligence, and relationships, as well as perceived evaluation by others, which can have powerful effects on various life outcomes (e.g. academic and work achievement, self-confidence, and hazardous behavior; Hsiang-Ru, Chang-Ming, Jiunn-Chern, Pi-Hsia, Wei-Lun, & Wan-Yu, 2009; Myers & Twenge, 2013; Neff & Vonk, 2009; Orth, Robins, & Widaman, 2012). There are a number of different factors that threaten self-esteem including social comparison, abuse, anxiety, self-criticism and perfectionism. One of the most prominent components is the media’s presentation of ultra-thin body ideals (Dittmar, 2009; Neff & Vonk, 2009). During the last decade, the media and advertisers have sharply shifted their focus from men to women (Cuneo, 1997; Vagnoni, 2005). Along with doing so, they created unrealistic measures of beauty and emphasized self-worth based on unattainable body standards that can be highly detrimental to self-esteem (Clay et al., 2005; Von Bergen & Soper, 1996). Studies suggest that women are more dissatisfied with their bodies than men, which makes them particularly vulnerable to the pronounced ideals (Mellor, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, McCabe, & Ricciardelli, 2010). Low self-esteem is an ongoing issue that can be debilitating and lead to maladaptive coping strategies, self-harm, and disordered eating (Huebscher, 2010; Tirlea, Truby, & Haines, 2013). Given the significance of self-est... ... middle of paper ... ...axton, S. J. (2010). An evaluation of a body image intervention based on risk factors for body dissatisfaction: A controlled study with adolescent girls. International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 43, 112-122. doi:10.1002/eat. Ryden, M. B. 1978. An adult version of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory: Test-retest reliability and social desirability. Psychological Reports 43:1189–1190 Tirlea, L., Truby, H., & Haines, T. P. (2013). Investigation of the effectiveness of the “Girls on the Go!” program for building self-esteem in young women: Trial protocol. SpringerPlus Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, 2, 1-11. doi: doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-683. Vagnoni, A. (2005). Ads are from mars, women are from venus. Print, 59(2), 52-55. Von Bergen, C. W., & Soper, B. (1996). Self-esteem and self-concept confusion in males and females. College Student Journal, 30, 418.
O’Dea, Jennifer A. "Evidence for a Self-Esteem Approach in the Prevention of Body Image and Eating Problems among Children and Adolescents." Eating Disorders 12.3 (2004): 225-39. Web. Apr. 2014.
The question of whether self- esteem has significance with real world- consequences is a valid concern. Ulrich Orth and Richard W. Robins provide the answer, with evidence contributed by researched studies, in their article The Development of Self- Esteem that self- esteem, in fact, does influence societal significance. With the determination on self- esteem trajectory from adolescence to old age, self- esteem stability, and the relationship between levels of self-esteem and predictions of success and failure, one can conclude that self- esteem influences life outcomes; moreover, people can participate to involvements focused at positively influencing the development of self- esteem.
We hear sayings everyday such as “Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep”, yet we live in a decade that contradicts this very notion. If looks don’t matter, then why are so many women harming themselves because they are not satisfied with how they look? If looks don’t matter, then why is the media using airbrushing to hide any flaws that one has? This is because with the media establishing unattainable standards for body perfection, American Women have taken drastic measures to live up to these impractical societal expectations. “The ‘body image’ construct tends to comprise a mixture of self-perceptions, ideas and feelings about one’s physical attributes. It is linked to self-esteem and to the individual’s emotional stability” (Wykes 2). As portrayed throughout all aspects of our media, whether it is through the television, Internet, or social media, we are exploited to a look that we wish we could have; a toned body, long legs, and nicely delineated six-pack abs. Our society promotes a body image that is “beautiful” and a far cry from the average woman’s size 12, not 2. The effects are overwhelming and we need to make more suitable changes as a way to help women not feel the need to live up to these unrealistic standards that have been self-imposed throughout our society.
A Review of Mary Pipher”s “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls”, Laura E. Berk's “Infants and Children: Prenatal Through Middle Childhood”, and Lina A. Ricciardelli's “Self-esteem and Negative Affect as Moderators of Sociocultural Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, Strategies to Decrease Weight, and Strategies to Increase Muscles Among Adolescent Boys and Girls”
Nio, T. (2003). Cultivation and social comparison of the thin-ideal syndrome: The effects of media exposure on body image disturbance and the state self-esteem of college women. School of Journalism in the Graduate Scho, 105-113.
Jackson, D. N. (1994). Jackson Personality Inventory - Revised Manual. Port Huron: Research Psychologists Press.
Self-esteem is commonly defined as “a confidence in one's own worth or abilities.” It’s typically known as a personality trait, so everyone’s idea of “self-esteem” is completely different. Your self-esteem affects how you talk, act, and even think. Do you feel like you’re successful? Are you happy with your appearance? How do you feel about your social status? These are all questions that can help determine whether you have low self-esteem or high self-esteem.
“Adolescent girl and Body image.” National Association of Social Worker. National Association of Social Worker Web. 18 Nov 2013
The sociocultural approach to the issue of body image among women states that women receive harmful and negative cultural messages about their bodies. These messages can come from the media as well as from family and peer influences (Swami, 2015). By promoting the thin ideal for attractiveness, the media contributes to women rating their bodies more negatively and thus increases their likelihood of developing eating disorder symptoms (Spitzer, Henderson & Zivian, 1999). In a meta-analysis studying the effects of media images on female body image, Groesz and Levine (2002) found that women’s body image was significantly more negative after viewing thin media images than after viewing average or plus size models. Harmful body messages from family can be direct, such as verbal criticism or teasing, or in...
In the depths of an individual’s being, lies his or her self-worth. Self-worth molds individuals into who they are, what they want to become. Self-worth lies at the heart of self-esteem. Self-esteem is, Palladino (1994) a blend of “self-confidence, self-worth, and self-respect. It involves respecting others, [along with] feeling a sense of harmony and peace within yourself” (sec.1p.1). The secret to higher self-esteem is the incentive to take accountability for one’s viewpoints, such as his or her aspirations, ethics, capabilities, and curiosities and to understand that these things combined is what makes them who they are (Palladino, 1994). However, the quest of higher self-esteem at times will cause sacrifices to be made by the individual to education, relationships, self-regulation, mental and physical health, as well as other concerns (Crocker & Knight, 2005).
Nio, T. (2003). Cultivation and social comparison of the thin-ideal syndrome: The effects of media exposure on body image disturbance and the state self-esteem of college women. School of Journalism in the Graduate Scho, 105-113.
...gender, and the self: Variations and impact of social comparison processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1118-1134.
In this age, media is more pervasive than ever, with people constantly processing some form of entertainment, advertisement or information. In each of these outlets there exists an idealized standard of beauty, statistically shown to effect the consumer’s reflection of themselves. The common portrayal of women’s bodies in the media has shown to have a negative impact on women and girls. As the audience sees these images, an expectation is made of what is normal. This norm does not correspond to the realistic average of the audience. Failing to achieve this isolates the individual, and is particularly psychologically harmful to women. Though men are also shown to also be effected negatively by low self-esteem from the media, there remains a gap as the value of appearance is seen of greater significance to women, with a booming cosmetic industry, majority of the fashion world, and the marketing of diet products and programs specifically targeting women.
Marcic, R., & Grum, D. (2011). GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SELF-CONCEPT AND SELF-ESTEEM COMPONENTS. Studia Psychologica, 53(4), 373-384.
However, it is evident that the media usually presents and sexualizes women who are “young, fit and beautiful” hence probably creating self esteem issues more than confidence especially in younger women who are religious towards the media’s expectations. This stereotype of being a desired body shape only forces women to meet unattainable perfect physical standards (Gill 2015). The media bombards the youth with gender representations and the types of bodies that are deemed to be attractive. Many teenagers all around the world are desperate to lose weight to be “beautiful”.