The Role of Self Esteem in Developing Social Anxiety

Abstract

Nowadays, anxiety is a growing phenomenon because people come across more and more stressful situations. Therefore, among its different forms of manifestation, there is social anxiety. This type of anxiety generally starts in adolescence, when personality is still shaping up and when teenagers are more and more interested in getting confirmation from others. When he is analyzed by others, a teenager fears failure and being ashamed when things are not the way they should, he fears being judged by others for possible small mistakes and, thus, anxiety appears. In other words, persons with low self-confidence and lacking confidence in their abilities have low self-esteem and can easily develop a form of anxiety. As we have already mentioned, social anxiety is caused by the fear of being criticized by others, by the fear of being improperly evaluated, by the feeling of being ashamed, of being in the presence of unknown persons, etc. All these social contexts are backgrounds for individuals’ unexplainable restlessness that can lead to physical symptoms such as excessive perspiration, trembling, palpitations, blushing etc. Self-esteem is very important here as it is very important how the subject sees himself or herself in the social situation. Thus, if a person feels unable to deal with situations considered difficult and if there is lack of confidence in her/his own abilities, meaning he/she has low self-esteem, it is highly possible that this behaviour lead to the debut of social anxiety. Therapy sessions help reduce and even eliminate this disturbance. There are certain techniques consisting of facing the problems up to the moment where the subject begins feeling comfortable with normal life aspects which used to be considered anxiety episodes.

Hubungan kepercayaan diri dengan kecemasan sosial pada remaja

“…Pada pertumbuhan perubahan perilaku juga dapat menghambat perilaku serta emosional individu hingga menjadi individu yang tidak yakin, takut dan tidak mau mengambil keputusan (Diwanda & Wakhid, 2022). Calin et al (2021) juga menambahkan perilaku yang menghambat lainnya seperti memiliki harga diri yang rendah, kurang percaya diri dan meremehkan diri sendiri. Jika terus terjadi, dampak serius dapat dialami seperti menjadi pemakai narkoba, berhenti sekolah dengan prestasi akademik yang rendah, pengangguran hingga melakukan penipuan (Fatima et al, 2020).…”

“…Adapun penelitian sebelumnya antara variabel kepercayaan diri dengan variabel kecemasan sosial yang menunjukkan adanya hubungan kepercayaan diri terhadap kecemasan sosial pada remaja (Nainggolan, 2011;Mutahari, 2016). Individu dengan jenis kelamin perempuan lebih tinggi mengalami kecemasan sosial dari hasil penelitian lainnya karena perempuan lebih emosional, seperti memikirkan pendapat dari orang lain dan ingin tampil menarik agar dihargai dibandingkan laki-laki yang memiliki kepercayaan diri yang lebih tinggi karena tidak terlalu memperdulikan pendapat orang lain dan lebih tegas (Calin et al, 2021).…”

Trajectories of social withdrawal and social anxiety and their relationship with self-esteem before, during, and after the school lockdowns

“…Although they are different constructs, social withdrawal is closely linked to social anxiety. Social anxiety refers to the severe and pervasive fear of engaging in social interactions, caused by the worry of being judged and criticized by others, unduly evaluated, or even rejected 12 . Social anxiety can be framed on a continuum between adjusted responses of social concern and severe and persistent fear associated with avoidance of social interactions 13 , 14 .…”

“…The onset of social anxiety is usually in adolescence and is one of the most prevalent forms of anxiety in this developmental period 12 , 16 . Because of their increased autonomy, adolescents are able to expand their social network, which is no longer exclusively dependent on parents, and peers become a central element of this network, acting as a source of identity and approval 17 .…”

“…This is largely because adolescents’ self-esteem development depends mostly on the relationships established with their peers and how they are evaluated by them 34 . Individuals who perceive and evaluate themselves negatively tend to avoid social interactions or be passive in social encounters, lack confidence in interpersonal situations, and fear social scrutiny, which in turn increases their social anxiety 12 . Similarly, individuals with low self-esteem often expect future experiences to be negative and use negative coping strategies to deal with unpredictable situations (e.g., avoidance, procrastination, or self-handicapping), which also increases social anxiety 33 .…”