Written by: Jessica Couzinié and Coraline Virot
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Self-esteem – one word to define the positive or negative evaluation of the self. Everyone would like to have a positive view of themselves but it is not that simple. Children mostly have a high self esteem because they have less self doubt and are more confident. While becoming an adolescent, those aspects change and it becomes more difficult to accept yourself the way you are. But why do adolescents have these problems? And what are the consequences of low self-esteem?
The preadolescence is considered as the period in which one’s self-esteem is the lowest. One reason could be the physical maturation during puberty. Especially girls suffer from a lack of self esteem during adolescence whereas boys report a higher self-esteem. This could be explained by the fact that this maturation is more obvious on girls than on boys. Girls have to accept the fact of getting rounder and gaining weight during puberty. It represents a challenge for them to get comfortable with those sudden body changes and to accept it. In contrast, boys’ physical maturation during puberty is linked with positive aspects such as strength and speed. They aim to gain weight, in order to get more muscles for example. Moreover, the gender difference in self-esteem can be related to the gender stereotypes. Boys are expected to be tall, strong and self-confident whereas girls should be gentle and sensitive and a great self-confidence does not match with that image.
Why is it important to study self-esteem? From a behavioral point of view, empirical studies showed that self-esteem is linked to delinquency. Indeed, non-delinquent 12-year-old teenagers who have a low self-esteem are more at risk to become a delinquent a year later than teenagers the same age with a higher self-esteem. Delinquency can be seen as a solution for those teenagers because when they become delinquents, they strengthen their feeling of self-worth by being admired by other teenagers. In other words, delinquency is a way to gain popularity, something that most kids dream of.
Also, individuals having a low self-esteem will face more difficulties to develop an identity, because they are doubting their capacities and qualities and do not explore other roles and functions they could exercise. On the one hand, a high self-esteem can help to develop an identity. On the other hand, an achieved identity can enhance a high self-esteem. At adulthood, the self-esteem gets higher and stabilized but it is build over a lifespan.
Self-esteem has an impact during adolescence and adulthood, and some external factors can influence one’s appreciation of oneself. At school, for instance, teenagers with good grades tend to have a higher self-esteem than teenagers with bad marks. It is not an exaggeration to say that school marks represent an indicator of an individual’s worth. A teenager having bad marks at school will perceive him or herself as not worthy and has higher risks to develop a low self-esteem.
A low self-esteem can be dangerous, especially at this period because it can lead to depression or anxiety. It is known that depression also has an influence on self-esteem, because when someone is depressed, (s)he is expected to have a low self-esteem. But, if the teenager’s desire to be accepted by his peers is not fulfilled, then (s)he will feel frustrated, question him or herself and start to have depressing thoughts. As a professional it is important to spot this lack of self-esteem among teenagers and to act as soon as possible in order to help them. Schooler’s study (1995) on the links between self-esteem, delinquency and depression showed that we could reduce depression by raising one’s self-esteem and one way to raise self-esteem would be by reducing depression. As of today, it is easier to reduce the symptoms of depression (by giving medication, with therapies, …) than enhance someone’s self-esteem.
In conclusion, self-esteem can be seen as an acceptance of oneself, one’s flaws and differences from others. It means to be satisfied with what you are and this can have an influence on several aspects of life. More work needs to be done on the study of self-esteem and on how to enhance it, because self-esteem has such a strong impact in someone’s life that not only a higher self-esteem could reduce depression but it could also lead to better marks, a higher academic success and, by extension, lead to a better life.
Bibliography
Agam, R., Tamir, S., & Golan, S. (2015). Gender differences in respect to self-esteem and body image as well as response to adolescents’ school-based prevention programs. Journal of Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry, 2(5), 00092. doi: 10.15406/jpcpy.2015.02.00092.
Schooler, C. (1995). Global self-esteem and specific self-esteem: Different concepts, different outcomes. American Sociological Review, 54, 1004-1018. doi: 10.2307/2096350.
