Importance and usefulness of evaluating self-esteem in children

Abstract

Self-esteem is the "feeling of self-appreciation" and is an indispensable emotion for people to adapt to society and live their lives. For children, in particular, the environment in which they are raised contributes profoundly to the development of their self-esteem, which in turn helps them to adapt better to society. Various psychologists have provided definitions of self-esteem, and examined methods of objectively evaluating self-esteem. Questionnaire-style assessment methods for adult include Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Janis-Field Feeling of Inadequacy Scale, and these for children include Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, Pope's 5-Scale Test of Self-Esteem for children, and Kid- KINDL®. Other methods include Ziller Social Self-Esteem Scale and Implicit Association Test. The development of children's self-esteem is heavily influenced by their environment, that is, their homes, neighborhoods, and schools. Children with damaged self-esteem are at risk of developing psychological and social problems, which hinders recovery from low self-esteem. Thus, to recover low self-esteem, it is important for children to accumulate a series of successful experiences to create a positive concept of self. Evaluating children's self-esteem can be an effective method for understanding their past and present circumstances, and useful to treat for children with psychosomatic disorders.

The Relationships among Heritage Language Proficiency, Ethnic Identity, and Self-Esteem

“…Although there is evidence that positive self-esteem is a predictor of academic achievement (Whitesell et al, 2009), negative self-esteem is one key element that may indicate children's psychological and social problems (Hosogi et al, 2012). A lack of self-esteem may be one of the major causes of disaffection that can cause student disengagement from school (Kinder et al, 1995).…”

Parent–child communication and self‐esteem mediate the relationship between interparental conflict and children's depressive symptoms

“…In addition to the serial mediation model discussed above, it is also possible that children's self‐esteem may also mediate the effect of interparental conflict on depressive symptoms (not via parent–child communication, see Figure ). Parents as primary caregivers play an important role in the development of children's self‐esteem (Hosogi, Okada, Fujii, Noguchi, & Watanabe, ; Soest et al, ). Interparental conflict is a stressful event that can negatively influence the development of children's self‐esteem.…”

Social–emotional development of students with social–emotional and behavioral difficulties in inclusive regular and exclusive special education

“…Negative peer relationships put students at risk for the development of academic problems and psychological difficulties (Carr, 2006;Snyder et al, 2003). Furthermore, healthy self-esteem is for instance associated with psychological stability and positive social activity and low self-esteem with social withdrawal and depression (Carr, 2006;Hosogi et al, 2012).…”