Self Esteem Essay

Introduction:
Self-esteem is critical evaluation of ones self, resulting in negative or positive thoughts about oneself (Decker, 2010; Kaya & Saçkes, 2004). The way an individual see’s themselves is imprortant in regards to how they behave and the daily decisions they make (Hamarta, 2004). With regards to adolelescents, self esteem is of particular importance, influencing every day decisions that can have a life long impact (Person & Year, 2007). Self esteem can be defined on the basis of the way one sees themselves. In this view of self esteem, there must be a reference point with which the individual compares themelves to although the view of themselves may be positive or negative with respect to that particular reference ppoint. In positive self-esteem the individual is satisified with the way he or she is and thus views themselves favorably with respect to that particular reference point. In contrast, in negative self-esteem, the individual fails to meet this ideal point of reference of how they should be externally (Decker, 2010).
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.
Many programs and research have been developed in the past 30 years with respec...

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...he process of looking at oneself in order to assess aspects that are important to one's identity. Various studies consistently show that one of the major components important to ones identity is physical appearance. Young people with issues regarding physical appearance are at risk for developing low self-esteem as socioemotional problems, that focuses on negative variations that occur in an individuals personality, emotions, and relationships with others during ones lifetime. Thus this week is the central focus of what this program is essentially targeting. Through self assessment tools such as the Rosenberg self esteem scale, a scale that has been extensively used in cross-cultural studies in more than 50 nations, we will be able to obtain data on how one sees themselves thus allowing for individualization of the curriculum based on the indivuals self reflection.