Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is viewed as a communal problem for Irish people, who worry that inadequate self-esteem leads to various undesirable behaviours.
Human Beings
Self as Me
Objective aspects of self:
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Hopelessness. Academic failure. Excessive criticism by significant others. Physical sexual abuse. Lack of external support, praise, or kind word.
But Emler (2001, Review) found that low self-esteem in general not associated with:
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More criminal behaviour. More use of illegal drugs, alcohol, smoking, or fail academically.
Emler N. (2001). Self-esteem: The costs and causes of low self-esteem. J. Rowntree Foundation: York Publishing Services Ltd.
Self
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Piers E. V., Herzberg D. S. (2002). Piers Harris Two: Childrens self-concepts Scale LACA: Western Psychological Services.
Coopersmith S. (1981). Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory Palo Alto: CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.
Harter S. (1985). Self-perception profile for children. Denver CO: University of Denver Press.
Harter S. (1988). Self-perception profile for adolescents. Denver CO: University of Denver Press. Butler R. J. (2001). The self-image profiles. London: The Psychological Corporation.
Suicidal Behaviour
Chronic stress erodes self-esteem and leads to a sense of hopelessness and then depression and suicidal ideas.
Lack of confidentiality about a childs problems in school will lead to a devastating fall in self-esteem.
Breakdown of relationships lowers self-esteem often critically.
Adolescent conflicts, identity diffusion, body image problems can all interfere with self-esteem. Unpopular boys and girls clearly have lower self-esteem and a much increased risk of suicidal behaviour.
Low self-esteem.
More depression.
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Adolescents
Falling behind not suceeding:
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Many members have low self-esteem. Poor family self-image. Isolated families. Inflexible family style. Much family depression.
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Much family conflict. Much familyhopelessness. Much family aggression. Very poor family communication. Chaotic or authoritarian parenting.
Poor individuation of family members i.e. each member does not have a separate, self-image or identity. High negative expressed emotions leading to low self-esteem and stunting of emotional growth. Low levels of warmth and empathy.
Children idealisation of parents and turn negative feeling and hatred on themselves lower self-esteem even further. Self-blame by children for family problems further lowering self-esteem. Children feel the family would be better off without them.
Family Summary
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A lack of generational boundaries. Severe marital conflict. Negative parental feelings projected into the child. A symbiotic parent / child relationships. An inflesible family system. Individuals feel and often are out of control.
James Joyce
Portrait of the artist as a young man school method of reduding self-esteem.
Undiagnosed ADHD
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Poor attention and concentration. Poor organisation. Loses things. Distractible. Hyperactive impulsive.
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Self-esteem can be enhanced through group work and social skills training and problem solving skills work.
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Sensitive parents.
Success of any kind.
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Healthy schools.
The aim of treatment is to modify the childs negative perception of themselves and to increase self-esteem.
Trust is critical. The childs view of the world as hopeless has to be challenged but one has to be honest with the patient and consistent in ones actions and statements. Children are more at risk of suicidal behaviour when they have experienced a loss, where their selfesteem has fallen, where they feel themselves out of control, and feel their school life is out of control.
Self-monitoring.
Identifying negative thoughts and feelings.
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Genuine Finding
People with high self-esteem tend to show more initiative and appear to be significantly happier than others.
Bullies, contrary to popular perception, do not typically suffer from low self-esteem. Neither do those who become sexually active at an early age, nor do those prone to abusing alcohol or illicit drugs.
Low self-esteem can contribute to illicit drug use. Declining levels of academic motivation cause self-esteem to drop, which in turn led to marijuana use. Thrill seeking or novelty seeking are factors in drinking and drug abuse.
Any theory which explains everything like self-esteem explains nothing.
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When self-esteem measured by external raters high selfesteem was associated with ability to initiate new social contacts and friendships.
It was not associated by them being better at asserting themselves and response to objectional behaviours by others and they were also not better at providing emotional support and even better at managing interpersonal conflicts.
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Former teachers didnt always spend their time building selfesteem and spent it encouraging personal responsibility and performing better. They werent all wrong. Dont throw the baby out with the bath water.
Many geniuses that I studied experienced low self-esteem and it didnt prevent them from producing creative work of genius.
It is probably negative for schools to boost self-esteem at the expense of good teaching.
Self-esteem junkies. No link between physical attractiveness and measures of selfesteem.
Praise has to be earned. Praise is only effective when it is given for genuine achievement. For a child with special needs this may be a very small improvement but is nevertheless real. Praise given willy-nilly is not helpful and is probably damaging.