Factors Affecting Adolescent Selfesteem
Adolescence is a time in a person’s development when many changes are occurring. Transitions in an adolescent’s development that take place include physical maturation, shifting educational environments, an increased association with peers, and developed cognitive abilities (Barber & Chadwick, 1992). Barber and Chadwick (1992) report that these developments allow the adolescent to consider their value and position in society. They further report that an adolescent’s self-esteem “can be a useful marker of the success with which he or she is proceeding through this important period” (Barber & Chadwick, 1992, p.128).
Block and Robins (1993) define self-esteem as:
The extent to which one perceives oneself as relatively close to being the person one wants to be and /or as relatively distant from being the kind of person one does not want to be, with respect to person-qualities one positively and negatively values. (p. 911)
Block and Robins (1993) discuss self-esteem as requiring two kinds of assessment.
The first is an evaluation between how an individual perceives themselves and the self they desire to be. The second involves the specific elements and criteria an individual uses in relation to their self-evaluation (Block & Robins, 1993). Verkuyten (1990) discusses how individuals differ in their view of perceived self-concept. Certain characteristics of the self-concept are not equally important regarding self-esteem. Verkuyten (1990) reports that most research that has studied self –esteem uses a long list of characteristic features and the person is to rate his/her degree of agreement or disagreement; the relevance to the individual is disregarded. William James (as cited ...
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Biological influences combined with societal and social expectations contribute to how well people learn to adapt to their environments (2013). According to Erikson, there are eight stages of development. Within these states, there are different psychological, emotional and cognitive tasks. In order to adjust, individuals must learn to develop these tasks. During adolescence, Erikson states that each person needs to navigate through the development task of ‘‘Identity vs. Identity confusion ’’ (2013). He defined this task by stating that adolescent children must learn to develop a sense of self and establish independence. Prior to this stage of development, a person’s parents largely influence their identity. In this stage the adolescent children begin to explore and develop their identity outside of their parents’ influence (Hill, Bromell, Tyson, & Flint, 2007). Adolescents are generally more egocentric at this stage and have an increased sense of self-consciousness. They also have a strong desire to conform to peer influence and develop concerns regarding their appearance. They develop concern about their level of competence in relation to their peer group as well. As peer influence increases, during this stage, parental influence decreases (Ashford & LeCroy, 2013; Hill et. al, 2007). Conflict generally increases between parent and child at this stage of development (2007).
The transition between elementary school to middle school can affect the way that adolescents mature mentally and cause them to think more about their identity and where they fit in the world. The development of an individual’s personal identity
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.
Self-esteem has recently been defined by Silverstone as "the sense of contentment and self-acceptance that stems from a person's appraisal of their own worth, significance, attractiveness, competence and ability to satisfy their aspirations" (Silverstone 1992). Self-esteem is the degree to which a person values and respects themselves, and is proud of their accomplishments. Self-esteem begins to develop in childhood, but it solidifies and gains momentum during the turbulent and trying years of adolescence. The teenage years tend to be a crucial "make it or break it" period when it comes to self-esteem because it is at this time that youngsters are searching for an identity. If this process goes awry, the teen is likely to have negative feelings about the self, leading to a low sense of self-esteem. Many recent studies have provided evidence that disruptions in the formation and stability of one's self-esteem can lead to various psychological problems, such as eating disorders.
Adolescents, become increasingly accurate in understanding who they are (their self-concept), which permits them to see themselves fully. It is what they do with these perceptions that leads them to develop a sense of their self-esteem. Self-esteem is influenced by a many factors including race and gender. Developmentalists who believe it’s the combination of race and gender, coined the term ethgender, referring to the joint influence of race and gender. I am researching ethgender in relation to self-esteem in adolescence. Research questions would include: do males have a higher self-esteem than females? Which ethnicity has reported for having the highest self-esteem? Are the differences in self-esteem
Schwartz, P., Maynard, A., & Uzelac, S. (2008). ADOLESCENT EGOCENTRISM: A CONTEMPORARY VIEW. Adolescence, 43(171), 441-448. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.
This paper’s purpose is to exhibit my understanding of adolescents and how their self-esteem/self-concept, play a role in their educational development. As adolescents progress through middle and high school, forming an opinion of oneself can be a difficult task to accomplish. What self-esteem means is the appraisal of or attitude toward the self (Wagner & Ludtke, 2013). Adolescents are trying to identify if they like who they are, if they are confident in this person, a lot of personal turbulence can occur for the individual. Wagner and Ludtke also stated that in early adolescence there is a consistent decrease in self-esteem. One of the many reasons for this is the increasing realistic self-views, and the general focus on negative feedback rather than positive feedback. It is our jobs as teachers to guide our students in the right direction of helping them overcome any doubts they have of themselves. In a sense we must use what we know to help them find the confidence to realize that each and every student is an individual and are special in their own way. So in this paper, through research and my own ideas I would like to present how I would go about these scenarios as a future educator.
Body image in both male and female adolescents is a critical issue during the cognitive development of adolescents. Body image refers to how a person sees their body, especially in comparison to others. Society plays an impactful influence on adolescents body image. For instance, women are portrayed in society as needing to be a size zero and be skinny. Women who are thinner make an average of $15,000 more each year, in comparison to obese women. Although, men’s salary does not differentiate between their physical stature. Society also portrays men to be lean and muscular. Society’s interpretation of both genders is unrealistic. Every person’s body type differs. Instead of wanting to be thin or muscular, adolescents should focus on
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).
According to Erikson adolescence is an age of struggle to gain a positive role identity (Erikson, 1963; Gross, 1987; Rasmussen, 1964). Being an adolescent can be very difficult and stressful at times; not only for parents but also for individuals, because it is during this stage where ones self-esteem begins to deteriorate. Individuals begin to compare their grades, their appearances to their friends and to their favorite celebrities. Self-esteem remains to be one of the most commonly researched concepts in social psychology (Baumeister 1993; Mruk 1995,et al.). Self-esteem which is defined as an individual overall thought of their selves also plays an essential role in the process of self-acceptance within a group. Self-esteem is the development of side effect such as mastering difficult challenges, working successfully by one self or with others, overcoming frustration and boredom. There are two characteristics that affect self-esteem in teens are self-confidence and self-respect. Self-respect is the proper dignity a person has for their self while self-confident is the confident an individual has with his or her judgments. Depending on how an individual view their selves it can determine one’s sense of effectiveness and worthiness. According to identity theory, a person is composed of multiple identities that show the various social positions that an individual use in the larger social group (Burke, P. J., & Cast, A. D. (2002). A theory of self-esteem.Social Forces, 80,3). Self-esteem is composed of two distinct dimensions, competence and worth. Competence dimension which is efficacy-based self-esteem signifies the degree to which people see themselves as capable and successful. While worth dimension which is also know...
Early adolescence is a time of important social transitions, including changes in relationships with parents (Paikoff & Brooks-Gunn, 1991; Veronnaeau, Dishion, 2011) and movement toward the peer group (Dishion, Nelson,
Age: Self-esteem tends to grow steadily until middle school when the transition of moving from the familiar environment of elementary school to a new setting confronts children with new demands. Self-esteem either continues to grow after this period or begins to decrease.
What does self esteem look like externally or how does self esteem manifest itself outwardly? When it comes to low self-esteem this is correlated with depression, body dissatisfaction, wt gain and in severe cases psychological disorders and suicide (Gayman, Lloyd, Ueno 2010; T & Donnellan, 2009). In contrast, high self-esteem is correlated with self acceptance, respect for oneself, doing well in school and a higher likelihood to reach ones life goals (Trezeneski & Donnellan, 2009). Considering these factors, I felt it was important to develop a psycho educational program that promotes high self esteem in adolescents.