Self image & self esteem.

GCSE Health and Social Care

Self-esteem

How well or how badly a person feels about him or herself and how high they value their skills and abilities.

Self-image

How a person imagines him or herself to be and how they see themselves given the reactions of others around them.

The factors that influence a person’s self-concept are:

Age
Appearance
Gender
Culture
Relationships
Abuse
Family
Socialisation
Income
Media
Education
Emotional health and well being
Environment

Family

Depending on how well their relationships are within the family could have a major impact on a person’s self-esteem and self-image. Our idea of our self develops because of the way people who are close to us behave with us. Family relationships can affect how happy and successful we are and can affect us throughout our lives. A strong bond with parents and a feeling of security and confidence within the family are all positive influences on a child’s self esteem. Teenagers who fight and argue with parents can result in depression and a poor self-esteem. Adults with stressful jobs will feel better with a family that supports and helps them.

Income

Growing up in a low-income household may influence a person’s way of thinking about themselves. For instance, if a child hasn’t got what his or her friends have got (like a popular toy or game) the child could feel left out, different from others or feel like they are missing out on something.

Media

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Income

Media

People may compare themselves to what they see in the media today. Like magazines and television, they could feel like they have to look like that or else they are ugly or fat or not perfect. They might feel that they would not be accepted. Media also influences our beliefs and our culture and how we see ourselves with our cultures.

Appearance

The way other people respond to a person may influence the self-image that they have and the way they value their self. At an early age children start to wonder if they look good or not and if they will be accepted by others. If we think we look good and have a good shape, hair, height etc, then we will have a positive self -image. If we think we are not attractive to others then we may have a negative self-image and low self-esteem. Over the years, what would be the ideal image has changed for example in the 50s it would have been attractive for women to be curvier than they are today, and different cultures see different thing as being attractive. For teenagers and young men and women today, the media puts pressure on them to be perfect. If you can’t do this you could end up with a negative self-image and low self-esteem.

Gender

Basic issues such as gender and ethnicity will be major factors in the way a person forms a self-image. There are different social expectations of men and women in the way they dress and behave and what interests and hobbies they have. This starts at a very young age. Although today there are less differences between men and women those that still happen can put pressure on a person’s self esteem, for example, a women in a high powered job working with lots of men.