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 ...
... middle of paper ...
...d females. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 5(6), 1061-1068.
Verkuyten, M. (1990). Self-esteem and the evaluation of ethnic identity among Turkish and Dutch adolescents in the Netherlands. The Journal of Social Psychology, 130(3), 285-297.
Wigfield, A., Eccles, J., Mac Iver, D., Reuman, D., & Midgley, C. (1991). Transitions during early adolescence: Changes in children’s domain-specific self-perceptions and general self-esteem across the transition to junior high school. Developmental Psychology, 27(4), 552-565.
Williams, J., & Currie, C. (2000). Self-esteem and physical development in early adolescence: Pubertal timing and body image. Journal of Early Adolescence, 20(2), 129-150.
Wood, K., Becker, J., & Thompson, J. (1996). Body image dissatisfaction in preadolescent children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 17, 85-100.
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.
Steinberg, Laurence & Morris, Amanda Sheffield. “Adolescent Development.” Annual Review of Psychology, (Annual 2001): 83-110. [E Journal]
We are introduced to adolescence in the 5th stage of development. Adolescence begins for boys around the age of 14 and continues up until the age of 21 years of age. At this stage of development, there are many changes that occur emotionally, physically, sexually and spiritually (McGoldrick, Carter, & Garcia Preto, 2011). At this time, adolescent kids are going through changes in their body. They are dealing with coming into their own sexuality. Skills pertaining to social skills and social relationships are being developed through experience. Adolescents are also increasing their skills of physical and mental coordination, such as learning about the world and working on their own coordination. Adolescence is also characterized by learning their own identity and where they fit in the world, as well as learning their relationship with peers and those around them. Spiritual identity is also developed along with a deeper understanding of life. Independence is something that is also weighing on the mind of an adolescent. Overall changes in the family structure can also occur when a child of this age reaches this
The establishment of identity is an important, complex task for all adolescents, and is considered a major developmental task for all adolescents. It is particularly complicated for adolescents belonging to ethnic and minority groups. Ethnic identity of the majority group of individuals is constantly validated and reinforced in a positive manner where as the minority group is constantly ridiculed and punished in a negative manner. What does this say for those adolescents who are the minority and not the majority? It is important to study or research ethnic identity because it provides better knowledge to help one understand striving for a sense of unity and connectivenesss in which the self provides meaning for direction and meaning of ethnic identity (Spencer, 1990). It is also important to study or research the differences between these groups due to beliefs and values.
O’Dea, J. (1995). Body image and nutritional status among adolescents and adults. Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics, 25, 56-67.
One stage of adolescent development that my teen went through was puberty. Puberty is different for girls and boys and is manifested differently as they go through many physical and cognitive changes. As I was raising my teen daughter I noticed that the changes in her body during puberty played a role in the way she viewed herself. By age 11 she became more interested in her appearance as a result of some compliments from some boys in her school. She started to wear makeup to school every day and became more interested in buying new clothes and shoes. As pu...
O’Dea, J. (1995). Body image and nutritional status among adolescents and adults. Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics, 25, 56-67.
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.
“Adolescent girl and Body image.” National Association of Social Worker. National Association of Social Worker Web. 18 Nov 2013
Schwartz, P., Maynard, A., & Uzelac, S. (2008). ADOLESCENT EGOCENTRISM: A CONTEMPORARY VIEW. Adolescence, 43(171), 441-448. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.
Rosenblum, G. and Lewis, M. "The relations among body image, physical attractiveness, and body mass in adolescence." Child Development 70.1 (1999): 50-64. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00005
Successful resolution of this psychosocial stage of development is imperative in order to acquire an enduring incorporated sense of self and to progress to the next stage of development. Society and one’s culture also contributes enormously to the commitment or prevention of dealing with the challenges faced during adolescence. Regardless of what challenges are faced during this stage of development, overcoming it is a fundamental necessity in order to progress into a strong-willed and stable individual in
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...
Throughout our life, it can be marked by developmental changes in every domain of life: our physical, cognitive, social, personalities, and morals. Due to some important researchers such as Erickson, Freud, Piaget we are able to understand the development of each of these domains. Each stage of it’s life has it’s own difficulties and events that can determine a person’s life (Mogler, 2008). During the stages of adolescence, they are very vulnerable to a lot going on in their life such as fitting in, peers, family, school, activities, and society, and not to forget the ups and downs of puberty. Adolescence can be viewed as a huge part of many children’s lives where in this part of their life they try to find teenagers experience physical, cognitive,
Body image: Especially true for teens but also important for younger children, body image is evaluated within the context of media images from television, movies, and advertising that often portray girls as thin, beautiful, and with perfect complexion. Boys are portrayed as muscular, very good looking, and tall. Girls who are overweight and boys who are thin or short often have low self-esteem because they compare themselves against these cultural and narrow