The question “What affects self-esteem?” is as timeless and as cut-throat as any other question. In fact it is one of the first questions that young children are asked by their parents, teachers and peers. It is one of the most important questions to be asked, because the condition of a person’s self-esteem can determine everything from how long they will live to how much money they will make. Thus it is a very important issue to address.
There is a wide array of possible answers to the classic question, What affects self-esteem? However, it is also true that some of the answers may surprise you. When we talk about what affects our self-esteem, we generally are referring to childhood experiences. And there is a wealth of literature out there that addresses this question from a variety of angles.
Childhood experiences can have a major impact on how we feel. One of the most common questions is what does a child learn about self-talk and how it affects his or her sense of worth when parents talk to them about how bad they feel like they are. Many children do not know how to express themselves effectively, and parents have to help them get over the inhibitions to say what they really feel. This is an extremely important step in shaping their self-image, especially as they get older.
The second question that people often wonder about What affects self-esteem is how low self-esteem affects them as they get older. The truth is that low self-esteem can have a devastating effect on a person’s life. A person with a high self-esteem is more likely to get promoted on the job than someone who has low self-esteem. A person with a good self-esteem is more likely to have a meaningful and fulfilling social life, and is less likely to wind up in jail or dead in a ditch because they did not have good self-esteem when they were alive.
What affects self-esteem is how toxic relationships affect a person. For example, it has been shown that women who have a toxic relationship in their lives are much more likely to have low self-esteem later in life. These relationships tend to affect self-esteem in negative ways because they stress a person out to the point that they do not feel good enough about going ahead with a project, a relationship, or even going to work. If a toxic relationship is allowed to go on for a long time, it can cause a person to feel bad enough about themselves that it becomes toxic. They begin to think that there is no hope for improvement, and that nothing is going to change.
Another question that affects self-esteem refers to the effects of early childhood experiences. A recent study points to a correlation between childhood experiences and low self-esteem. Children who were exposed to violence at an early age and/or who were abused by a parent were more likely to have low self-esteem as adults. Those who had positive early childhood experiences were less likely to have low self-esteem as adults. This study was done using kids who were attending a day care center and had been exposed to violence; it is not known if those who did not experience this were also exposed to violence.
What affects self-esteem is a person’s overall self-image and/or their physical appearance. Most people assume that the way they look is affected by how they feel about themselves. For example, if a person feels ugly, they may try to alter their appearance in order to be more attractive. However, when this does not work, they then begin to feel ugly and begin to alter their lives to try to fix their physical appearance. Low self-esteem and low self-image are caused by an distorted view of one’s own body and/or the way others perceive them. Physical appearance therefore are tied to internal processes related to one’s own body image and self-image.
What affects self-esteem depends on what specific domains of evaluation we are focusing on. In the case of childhood abuse and early life experiences, one would expect some sort of physical change in a person’s body or appearance as a result of the events that occurred. However, the extent of that change will depend on the domain of concern. For example, changes in physical appearance self-esteem are likely to be very different from changes in psychological or personality self-esteem. This new research provides insight into how specific domains of evaluation such as self-esteem, perceived competence, and organizational skill might interact in a dyadic setting, which is a social interaction context that includes both partners.