Self-esteem has been a topic of heated debate throughout decades. It has been acknowledged that it affects people’s lives. It is also known that numerous factors contribute to development of low or high self-esteem towards self-image. One of the major factors is biological as people are born with certain traits of character which help them be more competitive and more confident (Myers, Willse & Villalba, 2011).
People’s appearance also plays an important role in development of their self-image and self-esteem. Furthermore, socioeconomic factors have to be taken into account as they tend to affect the way people see themselves. Notably, race and age often have certain influence on development of individual’s self-esteem.
Thus, Hispanic and Blacks tend to have higher self-esteem in their adulthood whereas Whites and Blacks have higher self-esteem in their adolescence (Erol & Orth, 2011). Notably, gender plays quite insignificant role in self-esteem development. Hence, there are a variety of factors contributing to development of high or low self-esteem towards self-image.
In order to develop a high self-esteem towards self-image, a number of factors should be present. Researchers note that self-esteem is forming in adolescence and, partially, in early adulthood. This is the most important period and it is crucial for a person to be exposed to certain factors to develop high self-esteem.
First of all, wellness of an individual plays an essential role in the process of his/her self-esteem development (Myers et al., 2011). People’s health and appearance have to be satisfactory and correspond to people’s idea of ‘a norm’ as it has been proven that the better a person’s health is the higher self-esteem he/she has (Erol & Orth, 2011).
Apart from this, a person excelling in some sphere of life tends to have higher self-esteem (Erol & Orth, 2011). Socioeconomic characteristics of a family affect development of a person’s self-image.
Besides, atmosphere in the family plays central role in the process and it is necessary to remember that a person should be criticized and praised properly as excessive criticism can negatively affect the way the person will see him/herself. The good news is that it is possible to help a person develop higher self-esteem through a variety of interventions.
It is important to stress that having high or low self-esteem significantly affects a person. One of the major ways it affects people’s life is that it interfere with person’s inclusion in the society. People tend to desire to be a part of certain group of people (team, community and so on) and higher self-esteem helps them to join this group more easily.
Furthermore, the way people see themselves often influences their academic performance or performance at work (Erol & Orth, 2011). People with lower self-esteem are reluctant to take on new responsibilities and challenges as they think they will fail. Admittedly, such people are unlikely to get promotion or even become an active member of a group.
Low performance at work or at school, in its turn, contributes to development of low self-esteem and people see themselves as unsuccessful. Notably, low self-esteem can also affect people’s personal life as they can fail to develop proper relationship to create a family.
These people can be vulnerable and often remain single. On the contrary, people with higher self-esteem are likely to have strong families and can become good models for their children.
Reference List
Erol, R.Y., & Orth, U. (2011). Self-esteem development from age 14 to 30 years: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(3), 607-619.
Myers, J.E., Willse, J.T., & Villalba, J.A. (2011). Promoting self-esteem in adolescents: The influence of wellness factors. Journal of Counseling & Development, 89(1), 28-36.