Adolescence and Self Esteem

Adolescence and Self Esteem: How are adolescents self esteem affected by family, school, and

social lives?

Abigail Dolloso

Senior Research Seminar

Mr. Tempinski

February 9, 2016
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

Abstract

This research project examined how adolescents self esteem is affected by relationships with

family, friends, and their school environments. Previous research stated that two particular

groups, adolescents from traditional families and those from broken families, differed most in

terms of their upbringing. For example, adolescents who have witnessed a divorce are more

likely to experience psychological problems compared to those with two married parents. This

study took a qualitative approach by examining the impact of family, friends, and school

environment on self-esteem through a sampling of these two groups, totalling twenty

adolescents, through interviews and surveys. The data suggests the most important form of

judgement adolescents should accept should be from within themselves and not from others. It is

ultimately their choice in whether or not they allow their self esteem to be influenced by outside

sources.
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

Adolescence and Self Esteem: How are adolescents self esteems affected by their family, school,

and social lives?

For the purpose of my research, my question asks how adolescents self esteems are

affected by their family, school, and social lives. Various research have been conducted on the

self esteem or the development of adolescents and they have proven that self esteem is

influenced by many different factors. Psychologists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky have done

well-developed research on what affects a childs development. The general knowledge is that

parents need to be in their childrens lives for them to maintain a healthy self esteem. From

personal experience, I have witnessed the effect parents have on their children and the outcome

of those children. I have seen youth take the abuse of their parents or are overprotected by them

that they have no true independence. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed

because these teens will hold their parents influence with them all their lives unless they are

shown an alternative. An alternative being that they can become independent of their parents and

confident in themselves. As I research this topic, I hope to discover a way to promote adolescents

to become confident of themselves by self managing their self esteem and gain independence

from their parents influence.

 Adolescence and Self Esteem

Previous research on child development have been made by psychologists Jean Piaget,

Lev Vygotsky, and Abraham Maslow. Jean Piaget is considered the first psychologist to conduct

a study on cognitive development. He has three components to his theory: schemas, assimilation

and accommodation, and the stages of development (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete

operational, formal operational). Piaget focused on the ages 0 to 11. He believed that childrens

development must precede their learning. His schemas are units of learning that can be changed

on what they are taught by their parents. Their way of development is to build a mental model of

the world and they continue to build on that as they grow.

Lev Vygotskys work is usually compared to Jean Piaget, many pinpointing the

differences between them. Vygotsky believed that the culture, social factors, and language affect

the cognitive development, which Piaget was criticized for underestimating. Vygotskys theory is

split into two parts: Elementary Mental Functions and Higher Mental Functions. The former is

divided into four parts: attention, sensation, perception, and memory. Then, he has the zone of

proximal development, where it begins with what is known to skills that need guidance to master

to what is not known.

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is the belief that people possess motivation

systems unrelated to tangible items. Maslow believed that the longer the needs are unmet, the
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

more "hungry" the person is to fulfill them. The five stage model possesses the stages:

physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. Physiological stage are the basic

biological needs such as air and food. The safety stage consists of security, order, and freedom

from fear. The third stage is the need for love and belonging. The one most commonly reached is

the esteem stage, in which, a person achieves mastery of independence, but it is unlike the fifth

and top stage, self-actualization. This stage is where people discover self-fulfillment and realize

personal potential.

Further research have been conducted on the subject of child development by Cornells

Kimberly Kopko and psychologist Jennifer Crocker. Kimberly Kopko (2007) examined the

families of adolescents and parenting styles. She discovered that there are two aspects: control

and warmth. The managing and acceptance of their childrens behavior combined result in four

primary parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. Authoritative

parents are firm, yet warm, while authoritarian are highly controlling and share little warmth.

Permissive are undemanding and are very warm towards their children. Parents that are

uninvolved show no care towards their offsprings. Out of the four, authoritative seemed to be the

best in its association with a healthy adolescent development. However, there can be a mix of

these styles, resulting in different ways children are brought up. It is about team effort between
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

the parents on the upbringing of their children. The behavior of the adolescents also affect how

the parenting style. Parenting styles have many other factors that can bring up further

consideration. Jennifer Crocker (2002) conducted an experiment on more than 600 college

students on their self-esteem. She would survey them three times throughout the school year and

discovered that they, as a whole, possessed a high level of self esteem. More than 80% of the

students answered that their academic performance was what their self worth was based on.

Crocker discovered that these students didnt receive higher grades and were more open to

greater stress and more conflicts with their teachers. She believes that, because these students

based their self worth on their academic performance, they get anxious and threatened by their

fear of failing, thus affecting their memory. Crocker realized that the students who based their

self worth on internal sources were the ones who received better grades and were more relaxed

and confident. It is about the goal that is bigger than the self.

The study that was conducted relates to the previous research in which it added by taking

on different aspects, such as types of parenting was used for types of friendship as well. Ten of

the subjects were taken from Larchmont Charter School at LaFayette Park Place in downtown

Los Angeles and the other half was taken from Centennial High School in Corona, Marshall

High School in Los Feliz, and King High School in Riverside. The subjects were asked what
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

kind of friend they believed they were in their friendships; either authoritative, authoritarian,

permissive, or uninvolved. In connection to past research, the subjects touched on what

motivated them in and out of school.

The purpose of this project was to discover the effects of family, friends, and school on

adolescents and their self esteems. The desire is for the subjects to become more aware of who

they are, the lifestyle that they are living, and the effects they have on others surrounding them.

Through this project, I hope to see how they will react to their new awareness of themselves and

what they plan to do for the future with this new knowledge.

Methodology

Subjects or Participants

Twenty high school students from the LA county and Inland Empire areas, ranging from

freshmen year to senior, were chosen based on the personal relationship I have with each

individual subject. However, the number of subjects were reduced because of commitment issues

and the number resulted to eighteen. (See Table 1 for details on subjects.) No reward or

motivation other than helping out a friend was given in order to participate in this project.

Table 1

Subject Description

Fozzie Pockets Fozzie is a Salvadoran fifteen year old sophomore from a high middle class
home. She was indifferent coming into this project. She knew she was the
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

inspiration to research such topic and most likely felt obligated to

participate. While answering the questions, she was hesitant, but only to
gather her thoughts. Fozzie was the reason I chose to do this topic because
of how I saw her as a person. She carried the appearance of being a
confident young woman, who could care less about the world she was in,
but internally, she was broken. I personally became friends with her because
of her heart. No one really paid attention to her or to that aspect of her.
Despite the cold exterior that she carried, she had something special in her
and she was crying out through her poetry. It was her vulnerability that
inspired me to take on such a topic.

Bob Bob is a Caucasian eighteen year old senior from a high middle class home.
She carries the appearance of the ultimate student. The ultimate student
being one that excels in more than just school, but with family and friends
as well. To the outside world, she is a star; star athlete, star student, star
friend, etc. Yet, inwardly she is stressed out and seemingly cannot handle
healthily the pressures that life has bestowed upon her. Personally, I was
shocked at the initial survey that she had answered, which made my desire
to pursue what was going on to increase. I, too, had fallen for the pretence
that she had fronted and brushed aside her struggles.

Forgetful Jones Forgetful Jones is a Hispanic seventeen year old senior from a middle class
home. To society, Jones would fit into the stereotypically artsy group, a
group not exactly socially accepted, but not socially outcasted. Fits into
school because his childhood friends are involved with school. If they were
not there, he would not be so involved with school. From the time I have
personally been friends with Jones, I have discovered he is forgetful, but
will work to make up for it. Family and friends are very important to him.
Surprisingly, for a guy, he is a romantic.

Two Two is a Hispanic seventeen year old senior from a middle class home. She
is a person that I have seen the most growth in as an individual. Although
the growth process was not shown through this project, the result of that
growth was. She appears more confident in herself and although, still hurt
by her past, she has accepted as a part of her. To the world, she appears
quiet and very introverted, but will share opinions if she deems them
necessary. Very intelligent and very driven. Studious and very realistic. Has
trouble believing in things if they do not seem realistic. Though her views
can be considered pessimistic, she attempts to keep a positive outlook on
life. Out of all the subjects, I believe her to be the most mature in how she
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

deals with herself and life.

Three Three is a seventeen year old Guatemalan senior from a low income
household. She is very family oriented and cares very much for her younger
sister. An average teenager with average grades as well, but works hard. She
sticks to her one group and does not really reach out to others. She has her
one direction in life and she sticks with it, especially if she believes that it is
working out for her.

Five Five is an eighteen year old Persian-Mexican senior from a middle class
home. Big believer in self love and is in love with her cat to the point where
she Facetimes her while on a trip away. A big gossiper, but will stay out of
drama. She also stays in her one group, but is more vocal to meeting other
people. However, she does have her one path as well and sticks with it.
Doesnt like when people mess with her path.

Captain Cookie Captain Cookie is a seventeen year old African American from a middle
class household. Loves to bake. Was a basketball player and constantly
watches the games with her family. Works hard, but wont give everything
she has into, say, academics. She believes there is more to life and that it
should be enjoyable. Family and church are important to her. Friends are
there to have fun with, but they do come and go. Loud and hilarious. Makes
friends easily. Goes with the flow.

Homie Homie is a sixteen year old Filipino junior from a high middle class home.
She grew up in a Christian home and cares very much about her family, but
does find herself staying alone often. She has a big heart, which sometimes
allows people to take advantage for her. Her work ethic is get it done, but
takes a lot of naps along the way. She often spends time with her younger
sister because they are close in age, but dont agree with them often.

Sir Weiner Sir Weiner is a Eurasian eighteen year old senior from a low income home.
She is brilliant in every way possible. She works hard, but will not give
everything she has into one area of life. She is content and grateful for her
life even though she does not have a lot. Her best friend is her younger
brother and she is proud of it. An avid videogamer and also not ashamed of
it. Loves space probably because of all the options it presents. Her mentality
is open minded.

Seven Seven is the youngest of the subject group, aging around fourteen years old.
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

10

She comes from a Guatemalan middle class income household. She

remained reluctant to participate in this project, but participated based on
the fact that she could be better friends with me. Out of all the subjects that
participated, she was the one that complained the most, the one that I found
to have the most trouble in getting to show some willingness. I would tie
this to her young age and lack of maturity, but I would not put that down as
a characteristic because with the topics, she approached them with
surprising maturity. On first basis, I would say she came into high school
with confidence, but it appeared to lower as she continued on with her year.

Nay Nays is a seventeen year old Mexican senior from a middle class income
household. She finds family to be of great value and holds maternal
characteristics, which I believe come from taking care of her two younger
sisters. Her enormous love for her sisters most likely come from the fact
that their father walked out on them. Although, forgiving to others, I dont
believe she has forgiven him. I believe this only made her heart for others
larger and is quick to offer a hand. She is very trustworthy, loving, and kind.

Franklin Franklin is a Korean seventeen year old senior from a low income home.
She used to be so driven, but somehow changed to a slacker. Out of all the
subjects, I have seen the least progress. She cares about her younger
siblings and believes that she needs to provide for them, so her job comes
before her education, her friends come before her homework. She lacks
proper motivation and needs a push or someone that will keep her in line.
This is not to show a negative perspective. Personally, I see that she is
struggling, but she is putting her family first. She loves them and that is an
admirable trait.

Lil Bam Lil Bam is a sixteen year old Caucasian senior from a high middle class
household. Her parents were never married, but remained constant
presences in her life. She primarily lives with her mother and sees her father
weekly. Her family is very welcoming of her and very supportive of
everything she desires to do. From my relationship with her, I have seen her
grow from a young, awkward girl to one of confidence. She has kept the
same group of friends with her since elementary school, which I believe has
helped her grow as a person. Although, younger than most of the seniors,
she places herself at the top in academics and works hard. She will most
likely graduate as one of the top in her graduating class.

Four Four is a seventeen year old Hispanic senior from a low income home. He
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

11

was always a troublemaker, most likely because his parents basically let
him do whatever he wanted. He has a good heart and head on his shoulders,
but continues to make poor decisions. Likes to make himself the victim of
his choices and has trouble owning up to what he has done. Can be really
frustrating, but is willing to change. He is more temporary than permanent.

Algernon Algernon is a Belizan seventeen year old senior from a low income home.
Although, she carries the appearance of confidence and high ego, she also
finds some faults within her to be close to unbearable. Very passionate and
stubborn. Will not back down if challenged about her beliefs. Strong willed
unless feels that she is being ganged up upon and thus, will break down.
Seems to be disconnected from her family and maintains a closer
relationship with her friends, but not to the point where she allows herself
to be completely vulnerable. Finds solace in music and the 80s. Very
independent based.

Eight Melon is a seventeen year old Hispanic senior from a low income
household. She loves to have a small group of people that surround her and
is unwelcoming to those who try to insert themselves into her life without
her permission. Works really hard and desires others to as well. Will attempt
to help others. Cannot go anywhere by herself, she always wants someone
to be with her. Afraid to be completely alone, but wants others to be
independent.

Dodger Dodger is a seventeen year old Mexican senior from a low middle class
household. She is a loud teenager that loves her baseball. Family is
important to her and so are her friends. Has her one group and has stuck
with them. Very caring and a good listener. She will defend her friends,
which shows extreme loyalty. Takes the time to be with people. A very good
people person.

BFG BFG is an eighteen year old Caucasian senior from a middle class home. He
is also an avid gamer and spends more time with his friends, but he is not
entirely dependent on them. They will come and go. He has his beliefs and
he sticks by them. He is friendly even though he gives off an intimidating
aura. He works hard in school and gives what he has to it.

Materials
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

12

A recording device over my phone was used to tape the interviews. FaceTime was also

used in order to interview those who were not able to make face to face interviews. Google Docs

allowed me to record my data and notes all in one place with easy access. Tissues were also used

for those who ended up shedding a few tears.

Procedure

The process of taking surveys and interviews was chosen because it was easier to

understand where people were coming from and for them to open up and share. The difficulty

with this project was finding the motivation to begin the project because it was always in the

back of my mind. I worried over the fact that my questions and methodology was not as solid as

I had wanted them to be.

The next week, I was able to finish making my survey questions and needed to send them

out. The struggle I had at the time was figuring out to measure the data. We had presented

presentations in class on our progress and what our projects were about. I had received really

good feedback on what I could do such as asking them to make journals about their highs and

lows of their weeks. I also needed to get permission to record them.

By the next week, I was able to give out and receive most of my surveys and met with my

mentor, Mrs. Rios, a teacher at my current high school, who majored in psychology, to review

the surveys and discuss what questions I should ask on my interviews. Within the next week, we
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

13

were able to finalize the interview questions. I was able to conduct more than half of my

interviews in one week and found them really reflective on my subjects and who they are. I did

face a difficulty when two of my subjects avoided conducting interviews with me. However, that

was not the only difficulty that I faced since half of my subjects lived about an hour away from

me, so I was only allowed the weekends to meet with them. The interviews were stagnated for a

little bit because everyone was too busy and were refraining from answering or trying to answer

my questions.

I needed to quickly come up with my second batch of interview questions. I was able to

write some data sheets for the analysis of interviews, but everything was a bit slow because of

finishing of college applications. The analysis was difficult because I tried to write everything

down word for word and would have to constantly rewind to catch what they have said. I had to

meet with Rios to come up with my second batch of interview questions. I met with only one

person that week for their second interview and received more emotion, which I found to be

more informative. I finished conducting all the interviews and found more and more people

opening up and showing their vulnerabilities.

Interview Questions

Interview One:
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

14

1. How do you define self-esteem?

2. How much of your self-worth stems from body image? Out of a 100, what percentage would

body image take up?

a. When you do look in the mirror, what do you see?
b. Do you like the way you look?
c. What is your favorite physical attribute?
3. How much of your self-worth stems from intelligence?
a. Would you consider yourself as smart or dumb?
b. How much do you care about your GPA? Why?
c. Will you be a first generation high school or college graduate?
4. How would you describe your parents? Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, and

Uninvolved? If your mother and father are in different categories, please specify?
5. Describe a situation or occurrence that demonstrates why you rated your parents this way.
6. What role do you take in your friendships? Do you feel like you are the same with each friend or

do you change yourself depending on their personality? If so, explain.

7. What gives you hope? When you feel sad or unconfident, do you meditate? Pray? Etc? Please

elaborate.
8. What do you fear from life?

Interview Two

1. Can you think of a time in your life where you did not feel confident about your body?
2. How did you change this mindset? Do you feel like you made changes in a healthy or unhealthy

way? Why do you think you made this choice?

3. Do you think your body image matches the way others see you?
4. How do you feel when you set an expectation for yourself (ie getting an A on a test) and you do

not achieve it? What about when you do achieve it?

5. Do you feel like you are able to set practicable, achievable goals for yourself or are you typically

unable to achieve your goals leaving you feeling like a failure?

 Adolescence and Self Esteem

15

6. Do you easily forgive yourself when you make a mistake or do not reach the expectation you set

for yourself?
7. Based on these six questions, do you feel mostly internal pressure to achieve your goals? Do you

feel family and friends place expectations on you? And/or do you feel it is a combination of

both?
8. What do you personally believe is the root of where your self esteem lies? And if you know, can

you expand on that idea?

9. Do you believe you are worthy of love?
10. Would you have been more motivated to participate in this project if there was a reward?

Results

The surveys were used to see where the subjects were in certain areas of their life,

pertaining towards their family, friends, and academics. The most important question on the

survey was what the subjects thought their self esteem was on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the

lowest. (See Table 2) The next section asked about family life with one question asking if they

like to spend a lot of time with their families still on the scale of 1 to 10. (See Table 3) The next

table asks if they like school. (See Table 4) The last table asks if they spend a large amount of

time with their friends. (See Table 5)

Table 2: What they believed their self esteem was

Traditional Broken
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

16

Fozzie Pockets 4.5 Nay 10

Bob 5 Pak 5

Forgetful Jones 7 Lil Bam 6

Two 6 Four 7

Three 7 Algernon 3

Five 10 Eight 7

Captain Cookie 9 Dodger 7.5

Homie 7 BFG 2

Sir Weiner 7

Seven 5

Average 6.75 Average 5.06

Table 3: Do they like to spend time with their families

Traditional Broken

Fozzie Pockets 5 Nay 10

Bob 5 Pak 4

Forgetful Jones 10 Lil Bam 8

Two 6 Four 4

Three 10 Algernon 3

Five 3 Eight 6

Captain Cookie 7 Dodger 5

Homie 7 BFG 8
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

17

Sir Weiner 7

Seven 9

Average 6.9 Average 6

Table 4: Do they like school

Traditional Broken

Fozzie Pockets 5 Nay 5

Bob 4 Pak 2

Forgetful Jones 5 Lil Bam 4

Two 7 Four 5

Three 7 Algernon 1

Five 8 Eight 7

Captain Cookie 3 Dodger 7

Homie 6 BFG 8

Sir Weiner 5

Seven 8

Average 5.8 Average 4.875

Table 5: Do they spend a lot of time with their friends

Traditional Broken

Fozzie Pockets 9 Nay 8

 Adolescence and Self Esteem

18

Bob 4 Pak 8

Forgetful Jones 6 Lil Bam 6

Two 3 Four 10

Three 3 Algernon 8

Five 3 Eight 8

Captain Cookie 3 Dodger 8

Homie 6 BFG 5

Sir Weiner 1

Seven 8

Average 4.6 Average 7.625

The first interview focused on what they believed self esteem was and how it was

affected by body image, academics, parents, and friends. In addition, they were asked what their

hopes and fears from life were to determine what was important to them. (See Table 6 for

commonalities between the questions) The second interview focused on their body image, their

mentality, their goals, their motivation, and their personal belief on their self esteem. The table

shows the answers of two subjects from a traditional family and two from a broken family. (See

Table 7)

Table 6: Interview One Commonalities

 Adolescence and Self Esteem

19

How much of your self-worth comes from body image?

Traditional Family More than half said more than 50%

Broken Family Half said 50% or more

How much of your self-worth comes from intelligence?

Traditional Family Half said 50%

Broken Family More than half said less than 50%

How would you describe your parents?

Traditional Family Authoritarian-Authoritative

Broken Family Permissive-Authoritative

What role do you take in your friendships?

Traditional Family Permissive-Authoritative

Broken Family Authoritarian-Authoritative

What gives you hope?

Traditional Family Family, friends

Broken Family Friends, music

What are your fears?

Traditional Family Death, losing someone they love

Broken Family Death, someone leaving them, failure

Table 7: Interview Two Results

Can you think of a time in your life where you did not feel confident
about your body?
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

20

Fozzie Pockets Um.. Like the most recent? Uh um. Well there is so many. I have to choose
(Traditional) a good one. Clears throat. okay. This is so hard. This is so hard. Pauses for
a long period of time. Okay I am ready. This one that I remember. Repeats
okay a lot. groans. So um it was my 13th birthday I think. I took some
friends to the beach. And we were changing because we had our bathing
suits underneath and there was this man that was whistling and he would
describe the bathing suits. And he was like look at those yummy bones and
my dad got upset and said we have to go. Everyone else had curves and I
had the bones. And I put on my clothes back on. Never spoke about it
again. Frustrates easily. Remember I told you that one time I got fat to get
boobs because my belly was bigger than my chest. I wanted to be thinner
and have nothing than be fat and have nothing.

Bob EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE. Most of the time I see a girl who is slightly
(Traditional) overweight but loves to smile and loves her friends and hates school and
constantly has bags under her eyes that no matter how much she sleeps
refuse to go away. I see messy curls and acne scars and teeth that arent
that white. But on other occasions I see me and thats enough. I see Alyssa
and I smile because sometimes thats all that really matters.

Lil Bam Id say that Im still not really confident with my body, but Im definitely
(Broken) much more confident now than I was growing up. Sixth through eighth
grade (so when I was a preteen) was the worst time for me in regards to
body confidence.

Four There have been multiple times in which I have not felt confident about
(Broken) my body. For instance, when I am with a group of guys who are bigger
than me, not only by body form but in muscle mass. In addition, I also feel
insecure when females talk about how they prefer males who are bigger in
body size.
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

21

Do you feel like you are able to set practicable, achievable goals for
yourself or are you typically unable to achieve your goals leaving you
feeling like a failure?

Fozzie Pockets Short term goals. I am good at that. Long term goals are a nope. Like
usually I set myself a daily goal of eating half of what I normally eat. Uh
what else? Begins to sing. Um like in my math class, I try not take out and
use my phone. In my world history class, I try not to talk back. In yoga, I
try not to sleep.

Bob I feel like I'm about 50/50 a lot of goals academically I set and achieve but
a lot of social goals I have leave me feeling like a failure.

Lil Bam I think that I typically set achievable goals for myself, I dont waste my
time setting unrealistic goals because that would only result in negativity
towards myself.

Four In the past, I would set goals that I would have no way of achieving.
However, I now set practical goals to accomplish.

Based on these six questions, do you feel mostly internal pressure to

achieve your goals? Do you feel family and friends place expectations
on you? And/or do you feel it is a combination of both?

Fozzie Pockets Nope. I feel like its not stress, but it is a constant reminder. Routine, not
pressure if that makes sense. I dont think they have expectations on me
because my brothers are big eff ups. Theyre cool. They give me stuff.
Sometimes my brothers yell at me and threaten me, but I dont actually
listen to them. I feel like they try, but I shut them down. I think I can be
more successful because they arent really hard to beat. And I dont think
my friends care or worry about. We just hang out. I guess because I never
where I have groups of friends where we talk about the future and gay
stuff like that and I hang out with. Im not really paying attention to it. I
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

22

never had the need to freak out in front of them. If it is outside of school, it
is only because I feel close enough. If it was school friends, I would
probably go by myself. I feel like my friends are understanding and I love
that. No, I think it is mostly myself.

Bob I have a lot of internal pressure and a lot of social pressure. My family
makes me feel super stressed but not my friends, I am completely me
around all of them which is really nice.

Lil Bam I believe that it is a combination of both because I do believe that others
place expectations on me, but its mostly internal pressure since I have
high expectations for myself.

Four It is a combination of both pressure from my family, to be more specific

my mother, and myself. If I had to choose which one applies more pressure
I would say myself because I want to be able to do things myself without
anyone breathing down my neck for it.

What do you personally believe is the root of where your self esteem
lies? And if you know, can you expand on that idea?

Fozzie Pockets I guess my aunt because she is forceful and she has this ideal image of me.
I hate her so much, but like I owe it to her in a sense. I feel like I act real
confident and positivity as long as youre happy. Dont let the media
change who are and all that bs. I think Im good at like helping filtering the
minds of others, but I cant do myself. I feel obligated to look like. I act so
confident because it is this persona and its a persona that protects me. I
dunno makes it easier to deal with things. Takes time to recollect. Holds in
tears. Im not where I want to be with my body. I just think I could get
better body wise.

Bob I think I have this crazy inner desire to just be better than everyone else or
be this child that gets put up on a pedestal. One time my dad called me fat
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

23

and after that it was game over. I became unbelievably self conscious
about basically anything relating to my body. I really don't even like
talking about it.

Lil Bam I believe that the root of self-esteem is how a person is raised and who
they surround themselves with because from personal experience I think
that a lot of my self-esteem issues as a kid came from my dads unrealistic
body expectations and his comments about weight. I always felt
uncomfortable with my own not-so-thin preteen body, and his comments
about me needing to exercise only worsened the problem; this led to me
dwelling on my body size and that really set a bad foundation for my self-
esteem. Also, I learned body hatred from others by watching older family
members make negative comments about their own bodies, so I thought
that was normal. Now, I try to spend my time with people that dont talk
about their own bodies or mine in a demeaning way, so I feel happier and I
have much better self-esteem than I ever have before.

Four I think the foundation of myself esteem is based upon my capabilities to

accomplish deeds or ideas. In other words, the more I accomplish the
better I feel about myself and the more confident I become.

Discussion & Conclusion

The results revealed the differences and the similarities between the two groups, such as

in Table 2, the average of the traditional family group was 6.75 and the average for the broken

family group was 5.06. Both are somewhat low, but not considerably. The original belief was that
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

24

the averages would be considerably different. With the results, it may be possible their family

backgrounds do not affect their self esteem.

For Table 3, there was only a 0.9 difference, meaning that there are kids from broken

homes who like to spend time with their family despite the fact that they do not have both

parents. School is usually seen as an escape from family life and both groups have shown to have

dislike for school, with the broken family subjects disliking it even more than the traditional

family subjects.

The biggest difference is shown in Table 5, with a 3.02 difference. The adolescents from

broken families have the tendencies to spend more time with their friends, which can lead to the

realization that friends may be the escape from family.

The interviews were more personal, and I chose the ones that has the audience really

seeing the subjects as people. Both sides had memorable moments of hating their body and felt

insecure about it. Each subject was unique in their responses with a couple showing that they

have gained confidence in their bodies and others still left in their insecurity. For goals, some set

goals that they know they can achieve and others do not even try for fear of failure. For Fozzie

and Bob, their motivation and pressure come from within themselves mostly. They are the

harshest critics of themselves, while for Lil Bam and Four felt the combination of internal and
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

25

external pressures. Three of them found that their self esteem rooted from a family member,

someone that told them that there was a part of themselves that no one else would like, that there

was a fault to be found. The last one found that it was based upon him, that he was responsible

for himself and no one else would take responsibility.

The limitations of the project are I had lost three of my subjects from the broken family

side. One had dropped out because he had fallen behind in school because of family issues and

apologized profusely for being too busy with catching up with school. Another simply forgot to

come to the interviews while the last proved difficult to willingly participate in any of the aspects

of my project. For a future reference, I would have chosen people that were more committed to

the project and taken more time with the project. Granted that since I had a short span of time, I

should have chosen less subjects.

In conclusion, the importance of the results show that the difference in family may not be

the defining factor in the effect of self esteem. The project had expanded on previous research by

highlighting that the adolescents upbringings go beyond the family and into the world. It shows

that there are many factors to what shapes the subjects even though, their families are the ones

that start them on a path to their identity. It is true that individuals are subject to influence by

many factors, but the most important one is themselves. The big picture of this project is for the
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

26

subjects to become aware of who they are and what is shaping them; it is about self reflection.

My part was simply to bring light what aspects that may be.

Through the questions, they had to think about themselves and what path they are on and

what differences they wish they could make. I have seen a subject, Algernon, realize an aspect of

herself and change it for the better, while I have another, Fozzie Pockets, say she wants to

change, but has stayed the same. What they do with their realizations are entirely up to them, but

the fact that they have the chance to see who they are is the point of this project. The philosophy

of introspection, the examination of ones emotional and mental processes, has the ability to

influence people to think for themselves, by themselves. In media today, such as the Dr. Pepper

commercial, they claim that we should be unique and be that one in a million. However,

people do not want to be one in a million, they desire to be part of the million. My project

highlights that we should take the time to take a step back and reflect on who we are as people

and if we like what we find. If we find a distaste for who we have become, then it is our job to

change it, not the world. For my subjects, this is their reflection, their step back.

Reflections

From this project, I have learned more about my friends and why they are the people they

have become. I have learned how their past has hurt them and how they have overcome it to
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

27

become better people. Some may still be ruled by their past because they are still hurt and to see

them hurt, hurt me as well. I have personally been affected by their stories, by their lives. I have

a relationship with every one of my subjects and they have personally touched my life in one

way or another. I have seen Two grow into a confident person, someone ready to take on college

and the world. I find that as a blessing to be able to witness a growth in a person. For Fozzie

Pockets, I have seen her move backwards and to have witnessed that and to be a part of that,

hurts because I felt that I could have done something about it. But, I realized it is not a failure of

mine when one of my friends move backwards in their life. It is not always my fault and this

project made me realize that because so many people believed it was their fault in almost

everything and that is why their self esteem is so low, but it's not. I grew along with my subjects

because of this project.

The strength of my project was that I loved it; I was passionate about it. I had a personal

connection to it because I cared about all the people that I chose and I desired for them to find a

certain feeling of content with their life and who they are. While others were stressed out because

they didn't know what to write, it flowed for me and I believe that helped me in the long run. The

weaknesses were in how I conducted my project because the recording device was difficult when

I had to code my project. I had to listen over and over again because the background noises were

too much. The FaceTime interviews were much better because I could write what they said and

did at the same time. And if they forgot what they said, I would be able to go back and see what

they said. The commitment issue was big because even I had trouble making this project a
 Adolescence and Self Esteem

28

priority despite my passion for such topic. I also didn't get to use all the data that I had because it

didn't continue in the way I had wanted, but overall, I believe it was a fine project and was strong

in its own way.

I impacted my results with the fact that I chose subjects that I had a personal relationship

with rather than choosing a random selection. This meant that I knew what topics to press more

on and how much I could push the topic to get the most information out of them. They were

comfortable with me because it seemed just like a regular conversation, which should have made

it easier for them to talk to me.

My project could have been more structured with the meeting with my subjects. The

meeting place I had the interviews in were at times loud, so when listening to the recordings, it

was difficult to distinguish my interviewees voices. Also, some I could not meet face to face, but

conducted the interviews through the phone by Facetime. However, I found that to be easier

when it came to collecting data. It did leave out the actual face to face aspect, but I felt that

technique would have made my project easier. I believe the time management was fine when

collecting the interviews, but I feel as if I could have gotten more in depth with more interviews

over a larger span of time.

 Adolescence and Self Esteem

29

References

McLeod, S. (2014). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Dittmann, M. (2002, December). Self-esteem that's based on external sources has mental

health consequences, study says. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from

http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec02/selfesteem.aspx

McLeod, S. (2012). Jean Piaget | Cognitive Theory. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

McLeod, S. (2014). Vygotsky. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

Kopko, K. (2007). Parenting Styles and Adolescents. Cornell University College of Human

Ecology. Retrieved from

http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/outreach/parenting/parents/upload/Parenting-

20Styls20ad-20Adolescents.pdf