Factors in the Development of Self Esteem
by Jorg Thonnissen (2010) Registered Psychologist
Parental behaviors have a strong influence on children and adolescent self-esteem. For example, Nielsen et al (2002) reports parental affection and support to be positively related to the development of self-esteem in children.
Researchers found that good support from parents was an adequate predictor for mental health. Generally, vulnerability and low self-esteem was greatest in those children and adolescents whose parental support was low, this applied especially for males. On the other hand, a study investigating the relationship between family dimensions and self-esteem in early adolescents indicates that girls’ self-esteem in particular is strongly related to a parent behavior, that displays an intellectually cultural family orientation, whereas boys’ self-esteem was positively related to their parents’ moral global orientation.
Overall, children and adolescents from high conflict families reported lower Self-esteem, higher levels of anxiety and weaker inward control. This can be seen in support of a study that found that the greater the perceived happiness of parents, the higher their children’s self concept. In addition, parents who avoid the use of guilt, anxiety and the withdrawal of love in order to control children/ adolescent behavior are likely to strengthen the self-esteem of their children.
However, parenting styles utilizing moderate levels of discipline at the same time are believed to further enhance the construct, whereas excessive parental control has the opposite effect (Nielsen et al, 2002). Besides strong evidence of parental support as a factor in developing self-esteem in children and adolescents, there is also reason to believe teacher and peer support to be of similar importance.
For example, low teacher and classmate support have been linked to low self-esteem and consequently behavioral problems. There is a relationship between low self-esteem and peer rejection as well as low academic achievement in children and adolescents.
Further, as youth evaluate themselves across adolescents, contemporary social influences have a major influence on the formation of their Self-esteem. This is unsurprising if one is to consider the impacts of media and advertising on social trends and lifestyles.
For example, the ‘perfect body’ may be something to be idealized by many, however, achieved by only a few. Similarly, children and adolescents may idealize a particular brand of footwear or soft drink used by the ‘in’ group, thereby perceiving themselves as ‘outsiders’ or as ‘lesser’ individuals for as long as these ‘brand icons’ haven’t been achieved.
