Teen Self Esteem
Did you know that nearly seventy-five percent of girls that suffer from low self esteem have admitted to taking part in a negative activity such as bullying, eating disorders, smoking, drinking, or even self harm? What about the fact that over forty percent of boys in high school and middle school exercise with the intent of increasing muscle mass because they are self conscious about their appearance (DoSomething.Org).
These facts deal with the increasing issue of teenagers dealing with low self esteem. Low self esteem is a mental disorder that causes an individual to have a negative body image. This may cause the person to view him or herself as inadequate, incompetent, or unlovable (DoSomething.Org).
Forty-four percent of girls and fifteen percent of boys in high school admitted to attempting to lose weight. In the cases of women, self esteem is normally related to how they view their own body shape, not their actual weight and size. Seven out of every ten females believe they are not good enough to meet the standards of society, including relationships and grades. Teenage girls that have a negative self-image are four times more likely to engage in wrong activities with men that they will regret. Nearly twenty percent of all teenagers will experience depression before they reach legal adulthood (DoSomething.org). Suicide is the third leading cause of death in teenagers (Tarshis 131).
What causes teenagers to have such low self esteem? There are two main problems: how other people treat them, and how they view themselves. Parents or authority figures that spend more time finding fault in children rather than praising them often result in a child who has trouble building up self esteem As adolescents are ...
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...g an Advocate: Helping Others Cope with Bullying."Living with Peer Pressure and Bullying. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2010. 130-32. Print.
Works Cited
DoSomething.org. "11 Facts About Teens and Self Esteem." DoSomething.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
Health Media Ventures. "10 Things to Say (and 10 Not to Say) to Someone With Depression." 10 Things to Say and 10 Not to Say to Someone With Depression. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Lyness, D'Arcy, PhD. "TeensHealth." How Can I Improve My Self-Esteem?N.p., May 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Saban, Cheryl. "Self-Esteem: Finding Your Strengths." What Is Your Self-worth?: A Woman's Guide to Validation. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2009. 43. Print.
Tarshis, Thomas Paul. "Being an Advocate: Helping Others Cope with Bullying."Living with Peer Pressure and Bullying. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2010. 130-32. Print.
Notably, distorted body image is a significant risk factor to various other negative outcomes in teenage girls, such as low self-esteem (Frost and McKelvie, 2004), depression (Paxton et al., 2006), and eating disorders (Cash, Melnyk and Hrabosky, 2004). According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2015), 12.5% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States experience depression and 2.7% of teens from 13-18 years old face an eating disorder, but most do not receive the treatment they need (Merikangas et al., 2010). The ubiquity of clinical disorders as is evident from these statistics is an alarming state that needs to be addressed. Therefore, it is paramount that proactive action is taken by all parties involved in order to rectify this
Girls are now led to believe they are not as good as what the “ideal” women based on looks. Even though, “on average the model weighs 23% less of what the average women living in the United States really weighs” (.) Young women are striving for an outcome that can be unobtainable based on body structure, and are left insecure when their goal is not reached. Eating disorders such as, “anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating are the result and the top three eating disorders among the teen community today” (.) The idea of perfectionism takes over their mind to knit pick themselves until girls, unfortunately, fall for things like anxiety disorders, depression, and turn to substances that hurt the body, not help it. In a People Magazine survey, it showed that “80% of female respondents feel that women in movies and television programs made them feel insecure about their bodies” (.) The “look” they are creating is not only unhealthy, but it is spreading an unhealthy image to girls just maturing and is damaging their ego in the developing years of t...
Previous research has shown, that women, in particular young girls, are highly likely to compare themselves and their body image with their peers. There is, however, yet to be studies shown that prove the correlation between peer interactions that influence body dissatisfaction. Body dissatisfaction can lead to dangerous eating habits, such as anorexia, bulimia and extreme dieting. Relationships between family, friends and fellow classmates are pertinent throughout adolescence as it is those surrounding the young female that have a great influence over her. Research compelling to the topic has focused on these particular factors, such as peer and parental influence but has not yet received the amount of exposure and attention.
Adolescence is often a time of low self-esteem, which can develop as a result of not being able to grow and change as quickly as is desired. Or conversely, physical development can occur much earlier than emotional development. A young person with low self-esteem may feel they are not as smart, attractive, talented or popular as their peers. They may also feel pressured by parents, teachers or others to achieve goals that seem unattainable. To help deal with the pressure, a young person with low self-esteem may be more likely to put aside his/her good judgment and turn to drugs or alcohol to escape.
Recently, society tends to focus on physical and materialistic beauty portrayed through the media. The media instantly forms unspoken physical standards that teenagers think they should meet. A strict belief in achieving a perfect appearance places a large amount of growing pressure on all people. Teenagers especially experience such stress because at that age, their bodies and personalities change drastically and they become more concerned on what others think of them. For example, they are pressured to be physically fit, dress, look, and act a certain way. Teenagers critique these particular characteristics because the media highlights such attributes. As a result, the stress of being perfect builds up within almost all adolescents. These societal pressures often have negative, or unintended consequences: “… [the] perception of overweight is related to depressed mood, somatic complaints, and lower self-esteem” (Whetstone, Morrissey, and Cummings). This study proves the theory that low self-esteem and low self-confidence directly result from trying to conform to societal pressures. Society also has a morphed sense of beauty. The public comments on the teenage girl’s dead body, “Doesn’t she look pretty? everyone said. / Consummation at last.” (Piercy 24-25). These last few lines of the poem display how distorted society’s views
A person must have the self-confidence and approval for themselves before they even have the right to look at others and judge them. That self-confidence must be gained through self-reflection and a positive environment. Most people believe that low self-esteem and not having confidence is just a person being “bummed out”. However, it is actually viewed as an official mental health and thinking disorder by many doctors and universities across the globe. “Once [A low self-esteem] is formed, this negative view permeates every thought, producing faulty assumptions and ongoing self-defeating behavior.” (Insert citation). Low self-esteem is most common among high school age students or teenagers who are plagued by the judging from dozens to hundreds of other students. All of these students were raised that it is okay to blatantly judge others in a sickening way. This judging can lead to depression, self-harm, and sometimes even suicide. According to (Author 3), “Among high school students, 44% of girls and 15% of guys are attempting to lose weight. Over 70% of girls age 15 to 17 avoid normal daily activities, such as attending school, when they feel bad about their looks.” (Insert Citation). If programs were made and enforced upon to encourage all body types in a positive way, self-love would be encouraged and people could attempt to lose weight in a much healthier
A group of people reviewing a program called, “In Favor of Myself,” wrote, “Teenagers with low self-esteem often fall victim to a variety of unhealthy behaviors and may become more susceptible to peer pressure, while others may remain more self-centered” (Golan et al. 1). Teens almost feel the need to be popular, which could lead them into trouble. This could mean skipping class, smoking, drinking, cheating on a test. Moria Golan, Noaa Hagay, and Snait Tamir who are researching the effects of positive self-image wrote, “The desire to raise social status and impress peers leads many teenagers down a path of self-destruction” (Golan et al. 1). It seems that the teens that are getting into trouble or are who are infatuated with the idea of being popular, are the ones that need the most help with improving self-image. The group researching, “In Favor of Myself,” also wrote, “Negative body image is a widespread concern among...females and often results in dieting behaviors, which can perpetuate the risk of eating disorder development. Body image dissatisfaction is increasingly being recognized as an important target for public health action” (Golan et al.
Adolescence, like for most teenagers, was a strange period for me. It was a period full of changes and a constant feeling of having to adapt to such changes. Not only did I experienced physical changes like growth in height, and the development of secondary sexual characteristics, but I also experienced psychological changes such as a drop in self-esteem. The could be several explanations as to why me, like many adolescents, would experience a drop in self-esteem around the ages of 13-14. These explanations could be divided into three categories: Cognitive, social, and behavioral.
Grigsby, Channing. “A Course in Self-Esteem: 5. Sources of Low Self-Esteem.” Online Posting. 17 July 2001 <http://www.getnewvisions.com/se/05crse_sources.html>.
Wells-Moran, Jolyn. “Teen Suicide Attempts Linked to Body Weight and Body Image.” 29 May 2009. Web. 02 April 2014.
42% of girls from first to third grade want to be thinner. 78% of 17 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies. 81% of ten year old girls are afraid of being fat. 30% of high school girls have eating disorders, and 16% of high school boys have eating disorders. Reports have shown that teenage girls are more afraid of gaining weight than getting cancer, losing their parents, or nuclear war (Deschanel). In a recent survey conducted by AOL, 80% of teenage women compared their appearance to celebrities in magazines, and 40 % said they were dissatisfied with their looks
In recent years, body image emerged as the top concern among 29,000 young people aged 11-24 years. Three key factors affecting and influencing the body image of adolescent girls today include social, print and digital media, gender expectations of people in relationships and peer pressure pursued by those living around us.
What does having low self-esteem mean? As stated on "UC Davis Medical Center" Low esteem means "A person with low self-esteem feels unworthy, incapable, and incompetent. In fact, because the person with low self-esteem feels so poorly about him or herself, these feelings may actually cause the person 's continued low self-esteem." This can have a negative effect on someone long term or short. The teen might feel alone and this can be causing serious cases like suicidal thoughts. Another can be short term, meaning the teen might be upset for a while but they can get over it.
Teenagers constantly worry about their body image. Magazines, newspapers, and television don’t exactly help to boost their confidence. The portrayal of stick thin woman and body building men forces teens to believe they need to achieve that “perfect” body and look. The biggest issue of these images being broadcasted to teens is the effects that the images have on them. Teenagers who obsess over their body image can experience stress due to trying to impress others, develop an eating disorder, and neglect, and even jeopardize, important aspects of their lives when they focus too much on their body image.
First, the majority of young people are dissatisfied with their physical appearance. Teenagers are more likely to have a lot of trouble accepting their bodies. They may not like the way they look in the mirror, so they want to look like someone else. Watching media and the environment all influence body image problems. When some teenagers see their friends around them and all the supermodels and stars on TV with their perfect bodies and skin, teenagers want to look like them. Often adolescents are associated with extreme behaviors and are engaging in practices that could be called dangerous. They try such drastic ideas they find on the Internet or by taking drugs. These body image issues can lead to eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and lack of self-confidence (Gregoire, 2013).