Self Esteem and Body Image

By Melanie

Growing Pains : Body Image and Self Esteem

Compiled by Melanie Thomas

"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you." Dr. Suess

Introduction

Adolescence, a term associated with the transition from childhood to adulthood, is a very important time in a student's life. Adolescence brings with it life's first identity crisis (Brown & Knowles, 2007). Adolescents are constantly preoccupied with themselves, how they look and how they appear to others. The perception of self is the basis for self-esteem, or how one feels about oneself (Rice & Dolgin, 2008). How a student feels about their physical body is their body image. The two are connected but not the same. Throughout the changes an adolescent experiences, feelings about oneself can be positive or negative. Those feelings impact every aspect of an adolescent's life which is why it is important for teachers to recognize this rocky time and help students transition as smoothly as possible.

Influences

Puberty

"Everyone is thinking about how they are changing all the time. We are all feeling different things and never really sure if anyone else feels the same way." Male Student, 14

As adolescents mature into adults, they often become self-conscious and embarrassed about the changes they are experiencing. Their bodies are changing in height and weight; bones

in the arms, legs, hands, and feet can lead the growth spurt leaving students appearing and feeling gangly and uncoordinated. Hair is growing in new places and sexual hormones are rapidly developing which can play a role in social and emotional behavior. During this growth period "most young people begin to make a thorough assessment of themselves, comparing not only their body parts but also their motor skills, intellectual abilities, and social skills with those of their peers and their ideals or heroes" (Rice & Dolgin, 2008). Many adolescents can't explain what is happening to them and feel that they are the only ones experiencing it.

Media and Sociocultural Pressures

"The media can be an entertaining business but it can be so unrealistic that people can lose their sense of reality. They see what (celebrities) have and want it too." Male Student, 14

Internally, adolescents are at war with themselves. But often times outside influences are causing this internal conflict adolescents are feeling. Western society emphasizes thinner bodies. Adolescents, through excessive T.V. watching, often compare themselves to the media images in front of their faces (Choate, 2007). The adolescents view their bodies as imperfect which can lead them to believe they are imperfect as a person. They believe they can never achieve what is believed to be the ideal body.

There is pressure for both sexes. Female adolescents feel pressure from the fashion and movie industries image of an ideal woman. From an early age girls learn that appearances are important for social acceptance. "Media images of excessively slender women encourage adolescent girls to be overly critical of and dissatisfied with their own weight" (Rice & Dolgin, 2008). Male adolescents are bombarded with the ideal male body -- strong, muscular and lean.

Family Life

Student's lives don't begin and end within the school walls. The experiences they have at home are present in the classroom. The family is the starting point for an adolescent's self esteem. Parents affirm a young person's worth (Paterson, 2007). Families that provide a positive environment will often help adolescents to form a higher self esteem and better perception of themselves. Socioeconomic status, family structure and the overall home environment affect how an adolescent perceives their life overall.

Social Life

"There's this one girl I knew who hated going to school because everyone was tormenting her. You could tell it hurt her. It's extremely hard to learn when everyone around you is making fun of you and you feel bad." Female Student, 14

For an adolescent, what friends think is the most important (Paterson, 2007). Adolescents gain their self esteem

through their peer groups. Peer acceptance is often linked to belonging whereas isolation from a peer group is linked to depression and lower self esteem. Developing high quality peer relationships in school and out of school is important because youths who difficulties maintaining them are more likely to be aggressive, perform lower in school and become depressed (Jin Yu, Tepper, Russell, 2005).

Friendships are also important because they can help to alleviate any problems the student may be facing outside of class. Encouraging students to socialize within an academic structure will help to broaden their social circle.

Bullying affects students' social lives. The most common type of bullying is name-calling, followed by being hit, being threatened or having rumors spread about them (Salmon, James, Smith, 1998). Bullied children and the bullies reported almost the same amount of anxiety (Salmon, James, Smith, 1998).

Consequences of Low Self Esteem

• Poor Body Image
  

Although body image and self-esteem are not the same concept, they are connected in way which can both make an adolescent feel poorly about themselves. They believe they can never achieve what is believed to be the ideal body. The pressure to have the perfect body can lead to depression, eating disorders, and self injury. Roughly 60 percent of adolescents are dissatisfied with their bodies (Choate, 2006).

• Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are preoccupations with food and body, although more often about much more than food. Eating disorders are complex conditions that are influenced by an array of outside factors. Roughly 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting an eating disorder, according to statistics from the National Eating Disorder Association.

a. Disordered eating is defined as an unhealthy relationship with food. It refers to

restrictive eating, and bingeing and purging. However is not characterized

necessarily as an eating disorder.

b. Anorexia nervosa is self starvation. Adolescents with this eating disorder have a

skewed view of their body, intense fear of body weight and strictly control their

diet.

c. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by cycles of bingeing and purging food. Often

their body weight is normal even though they fear body fat.

d. Muscle Dysmorphia is a disorder characterized by an adolescent's preoccupation

with body size and muscularity. Although there is limited research, it most often

occurs in boys and could lead to steroid abuse. They connect their identities with

their physical appearance. It has been said to be influenced by the media and

action figure toys.

---->Muscle Dysmorphia Video

Social Problems

Adolescent friendships are rocky and unpredictable. Those friendships can be

even more strained if an adolescent has low self-esteem. Students with low-self esteem will

have a difficult time maintaining friendships, making new friends and having positive

and fulfilling relationships. Much of this is related to the bond formed between parents

and the child. If adolescents never developed a healthy relationship with their parents

may have a hard time developing relationships with their peers (Rice & Dolgin, 2008).

What Teachers Can Do

• Provide opportunities to succeed
  

1. give students time to work in groups to toss around ideas on topics
2. use homework and classwork that is culturally and socially relevant to their lives
3. challenge them to use their critical thinking skills
4. use creative lesson plans that target a diverse group of learners
5. create an atmosphere that encourages discussion

• Target their learning goals

1. Stay in contact with their parents to know their goals for their child
2. Set out a plan in the beginning of the year of what the students wants to learn and accomplish
3. Get to know your student's goals outside of class (for example what they want to accomplish in sports or in a club)
4. Incorporate a multitude of media into your lesson plans to expand their knowledge

• Give constructive feedback

1. Know that students' egos are fragile
2. Let them know how to improve without offending them
3. Allow them to explore many different possibilities
4. Don't judge them for their ideas

• Encourage independence

1. Allow students to choose their activities
2. Include individual activities and projects in your assessments
3. Create an open forum to discuss individual ideas
4. Guide them, don't choose for them

Other Ideas

(adapted from Michelle Borba)

Mentor a child

take a little bit more time to get to know a child who may be floundering

Pass on Concerns

talk to other teachers about a student and make goals to help the student

Reframe Students' Self Image

Praise a positive trait -- a great smile or a great attitude

Help them to explore

Give students the opportunity to try new things -- hobbies, books or a club

Make yourself available

Let your students know you care by staying in contact with them. Give them your e-mail address or cell phone number and let them know when it's appropriate to call you

What Counselors Can Do

• Stay in contact with parents

--> hold educational meetings for parents about what is healthy eating, how to help students eat healthy and promote healthy living

• Inform your students and parents
  

--> Explain what dieting is and its negative effects

• Stop bullying

--> Educate parents on the effects of bullying and help to start a zero tolerance program

in the school district. Promote a healthy and positive learning environment.

• Facilitate friendships

--> use clubs and other extracurricular activities to be a social platform for promoting

and developing healthy friendships.

• Help students understand

--> Educate students on the reality of how their bodies should look and what they are

going through. Provide an open discussion for them to talk about their changes and how they feel.

References

Brown, D.F; Knowles, T. "What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know." 2007 Heinemann: New Hampshire.

Choate, L. "Stepping off the Scale: Building Positive Body Image in Adolescent Girls." Sept. 2006. National Eating Disorders Conference. Bethesda, Maryland.

Choate, L. "Counseling Adolescent Girls for Body Image Resilience: strategies for school counselors." Professional School Counseling. Feb. 2007.

Pajares, Frank. "How Teachers Can Help." 2002 Emory University

Paterson, Jim. "The Power of Self Esteem: Build it & They will Flourish." October 2007. Middle Ground. Vol. 11 no.2 pg. 8-10.

Salmon, G; James, A.; Smith D.M.; "Bullying in Schools: self-reported anxiety, depression, and self-esteem in secondary school children" British Medical Journal. October 1998.