A Reflection On Self Esteem

Most people face self esteem problems at different levels. At some point in life people face this problem without realizing it. In the essay The Trouble with Self-Esteem written by Lauren Slater starts of by demonstrating a test. Self esteem test that determines whether you have a high self-esteem or low self-esteem. The question to be answered however is; what is the value and meaning of self-esteem? The trouble with self-esteem is that not everyone approaches it properly, taking a test or doing research based of a certain group of people is not the way to do so.

Self-Esteem can be harmful and make people very self centered, but others lack confidence and need a boost of self-esteem. Self-esteem is a very important factor in various reasons that happens in people’s daily life. With no type of thought people don’t think or take self-esteem with importance without realizing that self-esteem is a huge thing that us humans depend for our daily activities. Some shifts that have happened toward self- esteem over the past few decades were the fact that many people don’t really get an effect of having a boost of self-esteem in order for them to reach success. Therefore, self-esteem is not important in the success of individuals but it is important in their well being and psychological health.

The concept of self esteem is widespread in life. When it comes to academics and extracurricular actives people associate high self esteem is necessary for success. Society makes promoting self esteem an important goal. With that in mind, it is surprising that only recently scientific literature began providing insight into the nature of development of self esteem.

Asian-American students are often assumed to be the ones who finish on top academically. Due to the amount of high-ranking Asian-American students in schools throughout the United States, a cliché stereotype has been developed claiming all Asian students are “whiz kids.” The culture which Asian individuals practice differs by region however, majority of Asian individuals celebrate a different culture than mainstream Americans. I interviewed Susan, an Asian-American female who was born to an Asian mother, and an American father.

In the article, “Changes in Self Esteem During Middle School Year”, it gives information about self esteem, and what effects it, which insinuates that self esteem is a recurring problem in middle schools. “...ethnicity, social class, gender, and social contexts can lead to changes in self esteem,” says the author. This quote shows that many factors influence changes in self esteem. These factors include dating, although it isn’t mentioned. Dating violence can strongly influence a person’s self esteem. “Gender can also effect changes in self esteem during the adolescent years. Girls consistently experience sharper declines than boys in self esteem.” This quote goes into greater detail about how gender can influence self esteem. Sometimes this

This article explains and discusses how good Asian students do in high academic levels. At the same time, refutes four different myths about Asian American academic achievements. The article has a brief introduction including some background information before focusing, explaining and discusses the four myths: Asian American has superior academic achievement; Asian-American students are born smart; Asian-American students are trouble-free kids, and Asian-American students are good at

academic gender stereotypes, girls believed they are academically superior to boys F (1,203) = 41.50, p < .001. Furthermore, results show that boys favor the idea that girls are academically superior as they advance through school F (4, 203) = 12.86, p < .001. In academic gender meta-stereotypes results were analyze by using between- subjects ANOVA. Results for the second DV provided insight on girls belief of academic gender meta-stereotypes did not increase as they advance through school F (4, 203) = 0.52, p = .719 whereas boys believe that adults seeing girls as academically superior did increase as they advance through school F (4, 203) = 12.24, p < .001. Findings in the current study suggest that boys believe that girls are academically superior to them, but they also believe that adults share the same belief as they do (Hartley & Sutton, 2013).

The source of this discourse can be attributed to global biases and stereotypes of Asian American students. Asian American students are stereotyped for being model students when it comes to education. Most of this academic achievement has been attributed to Asian cultural values that promote educational endeavors. Culture is a major explanation for achievement differences. The article,” Asian-American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of an explanation” states, “demands and expectations for achievement and upward mobility, induction of guilt about parental sacrifice and the need to fulfill obligations” (Sue, S., & Okazaki, S., 2009), implying that those are key contributors to why Asian families promote educational achievements.

The findings reveal that Asian American students’ cultural orientation is a significant contributor to their academic achievement. Asian Americans put strong emphasis on efforts whereas white students see academic abilities as an inherent characteristic that cannot be improved through efforts. Further, the immigrant self-selection and optimism for future success among Asian American students and their parents contribute to their exceptional outcomes. On the other hand, they did not find any significant differences between Asian American and white students’ cognitive abilities. Socio-demographic characteristics in Hsin and Xie’s analysis had limited explanatory power for Asian Americans’ superior academic achievement. The authors claim that such lack of significance of socio-demographic characteristics is due to socioeconomic variation within Asian Americans. While they do not completely reject the significance of socio-demographic factors, Hsin and Xie fail to consider how Asian Americans as a group exhibit exceptional academic performance despite with-in group variation in socio-demographic

However, people’s perception of gender due to society ignores these findings. Women who exhibit agency, or assertiveness in the workplace, are considerably less likely to be hired for a job than a man who has the same traits or a woman who is sensitive and motherly (Shibley Hyde). Gender stereotypes also affect young men in an even harsher way. Society believes that girls are more sensitive and more likely to have self-esteem issues. However, in Shibley Hyde’s meta-analysis, she found that there was almost no difference between adolescent boys’ and girls’ issues with self-worth (Shibley Hyde). This could potentially lead to boys not getting the help they need because society expects them to “take it like a man”.

In most cases, children with low self-esteem feel that the important adults and peers in their lives do not accept them, do not care about them very much, and would not go out of their way to ensure their safety and well-being. Negative self-esteem is related to low self-confidence, insecurity, underachievement, anxiety, depression, acting-out behavior, sleep problems and being a loner (Yarnell, 1999).

How important is good self-esteem in the development of children: extremely important!! Having good self-esteem is a key component in the healthy development of children and adolescents (Nuttall, 1991). A person with high self-esteem feels like they can accomplish anything they set their minds to, whereas a person with low self-esteem feels that they are unimportant and nothing they do will make a difference (Nuttall, 1991). How a person feels about themselves affects how they will act, this is true in adults and adolescents as well as small children (Nuttall, 1991) There are a myriad of influences that can make a difference in the self-esteem of children today: parents, teachers, friends, and society in general all have an effect on a

People’s self-esteem either high or low is shaped by their life experiences. I believe a person’s self-esteem begins to take shape at an early age, with their parents being a major influence. Kind, positive, knowledgeable and caring parents help children create a positive self-image. Parents who do not feel good about themselves or others, sometimes take it out on their childern by belittling them or discouraging them. This leads the child down a path of self-doubt and eventually given the right circumstances a lower self-esteem.

Most people think that peer pressure is one of the leading cause of low self-esteem ,we read about young adult going through teen issues such as bullying , fighting and many more other issues but in 2017 things have changed .Many teenagers are obsessed with social media sites such as Facebook, Snap chat, or even Instagram . these sites were either design for reconnection with lost family or friends to showing people bit a piece what you do on a day to day basis but now that’s not the case. Self -esteem is when an individual has confidence and satisfaction in themselves with the changes in how social media works in this day and age self-esteem is one of the issues it affects. Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and

Self-acceptance is an extremely prevalent issue that numerous people struggle with. It is one of the hardest to surmount, for it is something I still struggle with to this day. Overall, my journey is a working progress as it will perpetuate to have its downfalls to test me. Like many of my generation, social media has played an excessively paramount role in our lives, both negatively and positively. Sources of harmless entertainment have also unintentionally encouraged self-judgment. Be that as it may, my perspective has been widely opened unexpectedly through a speaker’s presentation as she showed us how to recognize our self-worth. Confidence and self-esteem are hard to acquire for some, but it should not be a quantity you divest yourself of. Self-acceptance of all insecurities and doubts is paramount since every individual has a unique beauty that should be cherished in order to pursue a life full of love and jubilance.