Teen Self Esteem

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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.

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