Different Factors that Threaten Self-Esteem

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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.

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