Editing Self-esteem (section)

== Development across lifespan ==
Experiences in a person's life are a major source of how self-esteem develops.<ref name="BaumeisterCampbell2003" /> In the early years of a child's life, parents have a significant influence on self-esteem and can be considered the main source of positive and negative experiences a child will have.<ref name="Raboteg 2014" >{{cite journal |author1=Raboteg-Saric Z. |author2=Sakic M. | year = 2014 | title = Relations of parenting styles and friendship quality to self-esteem, life satisfaction, & happiness in adolescents | journal = Applied Research in the Quality of Life | volume = 9 | issue = 3| pages = 749–765 | doi=10.1007/s11482-013-9268-0|s2cid=143419028 }}</ref> Unconditional love from parents helps a child develop a stable sense of being cared for and respected. These feelings translate into later effects on self-esteem as the child grows older.<ref name="OlsenBrecklerWiggins">{{cite book |last1=Olsen |first1=J. M. |last2=Breckler |first2=S. J. |last3=Wiggins |first3=E. C. |year=2008 |title=Social Psychology Alive |edition=First Canadian |location=Toronto |publisher=Thomson Nelson |isbn=978-0176224523 }}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}</ref> Students in elementary school who have high self-esteem tend to have authoritative parents who are caring, supportive adults who set clear standards for their child and allow them to voice their opinion in decision making.

Although studies thus far have reported only a correlation of warm, supportive [[parenting styles]] (mainly authoritative and permissive) with children having high self-esteem, these parenting styles could easily be thought of as having some causal effect in self-esteem development.<ref name="Raboteg 2014" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Coopersmith |first=S. |year=1967 |title=The Antecedents of Self-Esteem |url=https://archive.org/details/antecedentsofsel00coop |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=W. H. Freeman |isbn=978-0716709121 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Isberg |first1=R. S. |last2=Hauser |first2=S. T. |last3=Jacobson |first3=A. M. |last4=Powers |first4=S. I. |last5=Noam |first5=G. |last6=Weiss-Perry |first6=B. |last7=Fullansbee |first7=D. |year=1989 |title=Parental contexts of adolescent self-esteem: A developmental perspective |journal=Journal of Youth and Adolescence |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=1–23 |doi=10.1007/BF02139243 |pmid=24271601 |s2cid=35823262 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lamborn |first1=S. D. |last2=Mounts |first2=N. S. |last3=Steinberg |first3=L. |last4=Dornbusch |first4=S. M. |year=1991 |title=Patterns of Competence and Adjustment among Adolescents from Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent, and Neglectful Families |journal=Child Development |volume=62 |issue=5 |pages=1049–1065 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01588.x |pmid=1756655 }}</ref> Childhood experiences that contribute to healthy self-esteem include being listened to, being spoken to respectfully, receiving appropriate attention and affection and having accomplishments recognized and mistakes or failures acknowledged and accepted. Experiences that contribute to low self-esteem include being harshly criticized, being physically, sexually or emotionally abused, being ignored, ridiculed or teased or being expected to be "perfect" all the time.<ref>[http://cmhc.utexas.edu/selfesteem.html "Self-Esteem."] Self-Esteem. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 November 2012.</ref>

During school-aged years, academic achievement is a significant contributor to self-esteem development.<ref name="BaumeisterCampbell2003" /> Consistently achieving success or consistently failing will have a strong effect on students' individual self-esteem.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crocker |first1=J. |last2=Sommers |first2=S. R. |last3=Luhtanen |first3=R. K. |year=2002 |title=Hopes Dashed and Dreams Fulfilled: Contingencies of Self-Worth and Graduate School Admissions |journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin |volume=28 |issue=9 |pages=1275–1286 |doi=10.1177/01461672022812012 |s2cid=143985402 }}</ref> However, students can also experience low self-esteem while in school. For example, they may not have academic achievements, or they live in a troubled environment outside of school. Issues like the ones previously stated, can cause adolescents to doubt themselves. Social experiences are another important contributor to self-esteem. As children go through school, they begin to understand and recognize differences between themselves and their classmates. Using social comparisons, children assess whether they did better or worse than classmates in different activities. These comparisons play an important role in shaping the child's self-esteem and influence the positive or negative feelings they have about themselves.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Butler |first=R. |year=1998 |title=Age Trends in the Use of Social and Temporal Comparison for Self-Evaluation: Examination of a Novel Developmental Hypothesis |journal=Child Development |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=1054–1073 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06160.x |pmid=9768486 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pomerantz |first1=E. M. |last2=Ruble |first2=D. N. |last3=Frey |first3=K. S. |last4=Grenlich |first4=F. |year=1995 |title=Meeting Goals and Confronting Conflict: Children's Changing Perceptions of Social Comparison |journal=Child Development |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=723–738 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8624.1995.tb00901.x |pmid=7789198 }}</ref> As children go through adolescence, peer influence becomes much more important. Adolescents make appraisals of themselves based on their relationships with close friends.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thorne |first1=A. |last2=Michaelieu |first2=Q. |year=1996 |title=Situating Adolescent Gender and Self-Esteem with Personal Memories |journal=Child Development |volume=67 |issue=4 |pages=1374–1390 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01802.x |pmid=8890489 }}</ref> Successful relationships among friends are very important to the development of high self-esteem for children. Social acceptance brings about confidence and produces high self-esteem, whereas rejection from peers and loneliness brings about self-doubts and produces low self-esteem.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leary |first1=M. R. |last2=Baumeister |first2=R. F. |year=2000 |chapter=The Nature and Function of Self-Esteem: Sociometer Theory |editor-first=M. P. |editor-last=Zanna |title=Advances in Experimental Social Psychology |volume=32 |pages=1–62 |location=San Diego, CA |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0120152322 }}</ref>

Self-esteem [[self-esteem in adolescence|tends to increase during adolescence]] and young adulthood, reaching a peak in middle age.<ref name="Orth 2014" /> A decrease is seen from middle age to old age with varying findings on whether it is a small or large decrease.<ref name="Orth 2014" /> Reasons for the variability could be because of differences in health, cognitive ability, and [[socioeconomic status]] in old age.<ref name="Orth 2014" /> No differences have been found between males and females in their development of self-esteem.<ref name="Orth 2014" /> Multiple cohort studies show that there is not a difference in the life-span trajectory of self-esteem between generations due to societal changes such as grade inflation in education or the presence of [[social media]].<ref name="Orth 2014" />

High levels of mastery, low risk taking, and better health are ways to predict higher self-esteem. In terms of personality, emotionally stable, extroverted, and conscientious individuals experience higher self-esteem.<ref name="Orth 2014" /> These predictors have shown us that self-esteem has trait-like qualities by remaining stable over time like personality and intelligence.<ref name="Orth 2014" />  However, this does not mean it can not be changed.<ref name="Orth 2014" /> Hispanic adolescents have a slightly lower self-esteem than their black and white peers, but then slightly higher levels by age 30.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Erol |first1=R. Y. |last2=Orth |first2=U. |year=2011 |title=Self-Esteem Development From Age 14 to 30 Years: A Longitudinal Study |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=101 |issue=3 |pages=607–619 |doi=10.1037/a0024299 |pmid=21728448 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Maldonado L. |author2=Huang Y. |author3=Chen R. |author4=Kasen S. |author5=Cohen P. |author6=Chen H. | year = 2013 | title = Impact of early adolescent anxiety disorders on self-esteem development from adolescence to young adulthood | journal = Journal of Adolescent Health | volume = 53 | issue = 2| pages = 287–292 | doi=10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.02.025|pmid=23648133 |pmc=3725205 }}</ref> African Americans have a sharper increase in self-esteem in adolescence and young adulthood compared to Whites. However, during old age, they experience a more rapid decline in self-esteem.<ref name="Orth 2014" />

=== Influencing factors of self-esteem in adolescence ===

Self-esteem during adolescence is a dynamic and critical aspect of psychological development, influenced by a variety of biological, psychological, and social factors. This stage of life, characterized by rapid physical changes and increased self-awareness, leaves adolescents particularly vulnerable to external influences. Peer relationships, academic performance, and societal [[beauty standards]] play pivotal roles in shaping self-esteem. [[Gender]] differences also contribute significantly to how adolescents perceive their self-worth. 
Recent research highlights how cultural and societal expectations can shape self-esteem, especially regarding self-perceptions of physical appearance. For instance, a 2023 study titled "Exploring Teenagers' Perceptions of Personal Beauty: A Quantitative Survey Analysis"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brunori |first=Davide |date=2023 |title=Exploring Teenagers' Perceptions of Personal Beauty: A Quantitative Survey Analysis |url=https://www.academia.edu/104602064/Exploring_Teenagers_Perceptions_of_Personal_Beauty_A_Quantitative_Survey_Analysis}}</ref> examined how Italian teenagers rated their own appearance. The findings revealed notable gender disparities: male participants typically rated themselves conservatively, while females often assigned themselves higher scores, sometimes a perfect 10. These patterns underscore the influence of societal beauty standards on adolescents' self-perception and their broader self-esteem development.
The study emphasizes the critical interplay between physical self-perception and self-esteem in adolescence, shedding light on how societal norms and personal identity evolve during this pivotal life stage.

===Shame===
[[Shame]] can be a contributor to those with problems of low self-esteem.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ehrenreich|first1=Barbara|title=Patterns for college Writing|date=2007|publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's|location=Boston|page=680|edition=12th}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> Feelings of shame usually occur because of a situation where the social self is devalued, such as a socially evaluated poor performance. Poor performance leads to a decrease in social self-esteem and an increase in shame, indicating a threat to the social self.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Gruenewald T.L. |author2=Kemeny M.E. |author3=Aziz N. |author4=Fahey J.L. | year = 2004 | title = Acute threat to the social self: Shame, social self-esteem, and cortisol activity | journal = Psychosomatic Medicine | volume = 66 | issue = 6| pages = 915–924 | doi=10.1097/01.psy.0000143639.61693.ef|pmid=15564358 |citeseerx=10.1.1.505.5316 |s2cid=29504978 }}</ref> This increase in shame can be helped with [[self-compassion]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Johnson E.A. |author2=O'Brien K.A. | year = 2013 | title = Self-compassion soothes the savage ego-threat system: Effects on negative affect, shame, rumination, & depressive symptoms | journal = Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology | volume = 32 | issue = 9| pages = 939963 | doi=10.1521/jscp.2013.32.9.939}}</ref><ref>In a survey on technology 60% of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way.</ref>

===Real self, ideal self, and dreaded self===
There are three levels of self-evaluation development in relation to the real self, ideal self, and the dreaded self. The real, ideal, and dreaded selves develop in children in a sequential pattern on cognitive levels.<ref name="self-evaluation">{{cite journal |first1=F. Clark |last1=Power |first2=Vladimir T. |last2=Khmelkov |title=Character development and self-esteem: Psychological foundations and educational implications |journal=International Journal of Educational Research |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=539–551 |doi=10.1016/S0883-0355(97)00053-0 |year=1998 }}</ref>
* Moral judgment stages: Individuals describe their real, ideal, and dreaded selves with stereotypical labels, such as "nice" or "bad". Individuals describe their ideal and real selves in terms of disposition for actions or as behavioral habits. The dreaded self is often described as being unsuccessful or as having bad habits.
* Ego development stages: Individuals describe their ideal and real selves in terms of traits that are based on attitudes as well as actions. The dreaded self is often described as having failed to meet social expectations or as self-centered.
* Self-understanding stages: Individuals describe their ideal and real selves as having unified identities or characters. Descriptions of the dreaded self focus on  failure to live up to one's ideals or role expectations often because of real world problems.
This development brings with it increasingly complicated and encompassing moral demands. This level is where individuals' self-esteems can suffer because they do not feel as though they are living up to certain expectations. This feeling will moderately affect one's self-esteem with an even larger effect seen when individuals believe they are becoming their dreaded selves.<ref name="self-evaluation"/>