As people meet their basic biological needs, they become increasingly concerned with higher level needs, such as personal development and positive well-being. The term "subjective well-being" (SWB) refers to people's evaluations of their lives and although relatively stable, people's levels of SWB are influenced by life events. The high position of esteem needs in Maslow's hierarchy of needs reflects the importance of self-esteem in people's judgement of their quality of life. A one group post test only, analytical research design was utilised with 570 residents of an informal settlement in Soweto. A structured questionnaire was designed to obtain information on demographic variables, levels of SWB and levels of self-esteem. The levels of SWB and self-esteem within the community were relatively high. Multiple regression analyses models confirmed that demographic factors are weakly correlated with SWB and self-esteem. Self-esteem was highly correlated with life satisfaction. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

As people meet their basic biological needs, they become increasingly concerned with higher level needs, such as personal development and positive well-being. The term "subjective well-being" (SWB) refers to people's evaluations of their lives and although relatively stable, people's levels of SWB are influenced by life events. The high position of esteem needs in Maslow's hierarchy of needs reflects the importance of self-esteem in people's judgement of their quality of life. A one group post test only, analytical research design was utilised with 570 residents of an informal settlement in Soweto. A structured questionnaire was designed to obtain information on demographic variables, levels of SWB and levels of self-esteem. The levels of SWB and self-esteem within the community were relatively high. Multiple regression analyses models confirmed that demographic factors are weakly correlated with SWB and self-esteem. Self-esteem was highly correlated with life satisfaction. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka sambanden samt eventuella könsskillnader mellan Social Jämförelse, Självkänsla och användande av Sociala  Medier hos gymnasieelever . Enkäter delades ut till 127  elever på en skola i södra Sverige. Eleverna ombads besvara frågor om användningen av Sociala Medier samt uppskatta deras Självkänsla som bygger på Rosenberg self-esteem scale och deras upplevda grad av Social Jämförelse som baserades på en förkortad version (Schneider & Schupp, 2013) av the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (Buunk & Gibbons, 1999). Resultatet visade signifikanta samband samt könsskillnader mellan användning av Sociala Medier, Social Jämförelse och Självkänsla. Det visade sig att elever som spenderade mer tid på Sociala Medier och hade högre grad av Social Jämförelse tenderade att ha lägre Självkänsla. Kvinnor tenderade även spendera mer tid på Sociala Medier, ha högre grad av Social Jämförelse och lägre grad av Självkänsla än männen. I linje med Findahl och Davidsson (2015) studie fanns det tendenser till att Sociala Medier ökat men att aktiviteten minskar. I vår studie tenderade eleverna att lägga ut uppdateringar när positiva händelser hade skett eller bilder på Selfies och vänner samt bilder som redigerats. Detta skulle kunna bidra till en allvarligt skev bild av verkligheten som kan leda till negativa effekter (som lägre självskänsla). Mot bakgrund av resultaten bör fördjupade undersökningar kring Sociala Mediers och Social Jämförelses inverkan på vårt välmående utredas. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between Social Media use, Self-esteem and Social Comparison. Questionnaires were distributed to 127 pupils at a school in southern Sweden. Students were asked to answer questions about the use of social media and assess their self-esteem based on Rosenberg self-esteem scale and their perceived level of social comparison that was based on a shortened version (Schneider & Schupp, 2013) of the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (Buunk & Gibbons, 1999 ). The results showed significant relationships, and also gender differences in the use of social media, social comparison and self-esteem. The study showed that students who spent more time on social media and had greater social comparison tended to have lower self-esteem. Women also tended to spend more time on social media, have greater social comparison and lower levels of self-esteem than men. The study confirmed Findahl och Davidsson (2015), showing that social media is increasing, but that the activity decreases. Students tended to only post positive events or images on Selfies and friends as well as images edited. This could contribute to a serious distortion that can lead to negative effects (such as lower self-esteem). Given the results, we propose that future studies focus on in-depth research about social media impact on our wellbeing and how modern social comparison works.

Syftet är att undersöka hur självkänsla är relaterat till användandet av sociala medier, samt om det föreligger några skillnader mellan pojkar och flickor gällande självkänsla, spenderad tid på och beteende i sociala medier. Frågorna som ska besvaras är: (I) Finns det ett samband mellan självkänsla och spenderad tid på sociala medier? (II) Finns det ett samband mellan självkänsla och aktiv användning av sociala medier? (III) Finns det en skillnad i självkänsla mellan aktiva och passiva användare av sociala medier? (IV) Finns det en skillnad mellan flickor och pojkar gällande självkänsla, spenderad tid på och beteende i sociala medier? Studien utgår från en kvantitativ ansats och materialet samlades in med hjälp av enkäter. Urvalet bestod av 140 stycken ungdomar (13–16 år) och valdes ut genom ett bekvämlighetsurval. Deltagarna fyllde i enkäten under lektionstid. Enkäten var en sammanställning av tre olika mätinstrument, RSES (Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale), Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (SMEQ) och Passive and Active Facebook Use Measure (PAUM). Enkätsvaren bearbetades slutligen statistiskt med korrelationsanalyser och t-tester. Resultatet visade på svaga negativa samband mellan självkänsla och de tre variablerna spenderad tid, aktiv social användning respektive aktiv icke-social användning. Resultatet visade inte på någon signifikant skillnad mellan passiva och aktiva användare. Pojkar rapporterade högre nivåer av självkänsla än flickor. Flickor rapporterade högre nivåer av passiv användning, aktiv social användning och aktiv icke-social användning än pojkar. En möjlig slutsats är att det finns en koppling mellan användningen av sociala medier och individens självkänsla. Resultatet i denna studie visade på att hög användning av sociala medier kan vara relaterat till en sämre självkänsla. Det verkar även finnas tendenser till skillnader mellan pojkar och flickor gällande både självkänsla och användningen av sociala medier. Det behövs ytterligare forskning på den yngre generationen för att ta reda på hur den unga individen kan använda sociala medier på ett sätt som främjar självkänslan. / The aim of this study is to examine how self-esteem is related to usage of social media, and if there are any gender differences between boys and girls regarding self-esteem, spent time and behavior on social media. The questions to be answered are: (I) Is there a relation between self-esteem and spent time on social media? (II) Is there a relation between self-esteem and active usage of social media? (III) Is there a difference in self-esteem between active and passive users of social media? (IV) Is there a difference between girls and boys regarding self-esteem, spent time and behavior on social media? The study has a quantitative approach and the material was collected by using surveys. The sample consisted of 140 adolescents (age 13-16) and was selected through a convenience sample. The participants filled in the survey during class. The survey was a compilation of three different measuring instruments; Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSES), Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (SMEQ) and Passive and Active Facebook Use Measure (PAUM). The answers were processed statistically with correlation analyses and t-test. The result showed weak negative correlations between self-esteem and the three variables spent time, active social usage respective active non-social usage. The result didn’t show any significant difference between passive and active users. Boys reported higher levels of self-esteem than girls. Girls reported higher levels of passive usage, active social usage and active non-social usage. A possible conclusion could be that there is a connection between social media usage and self-esteem. The result in this study showed that large amount of social media usage could be related to lower self-esteem. There seems to be a difference between boys and girls regarding self-esteem and social media usage. Further research on the younger generation is needed to find out how the young individual could use social media in ways that promotes self-esteem.

Although eating disorders have been the focus of much research, the inclusion of minority populations has been minimal. A recent review of the literature by Dolan (1991) has found that eating disorders were most likely to be present in non-White women who were exposed to Western societies and cultures. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine personality, physical, and cultural correlates of bulimic symptomatology in a sample of African American college women. The Bulimia Test Revised (BULIT-R) was used to assess bulimia symptoms. The African American Acculturation Scale (AAAS), the Beliefs about Attractiveness Scale Revised (BAAR factors 1 and 2), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES), the Centers for Epidemiological Depression Scale (CES-D), Body Parts Satisfaction Scale (BPSS), and body mass were the independent variables hypothesized to predict bulimic symptoms. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that body mass, depression, and low self-esteem were the best predictors of bulimic symptomatology, together accounting for 38% of the variance. Beliefs about attractiveness and body satisfaction were related to bulimic symptoms but not when considered simultaneously with the other variables. Acculturation was not predictive of bulimic symptoms. 0-ordered correlations revealed that beliefs about attractiveness and body satisfaction were correlated with bulimic symptoms. Acculturation was not related to any variables except depression. Implications for counseling interventions as well as directions for future research are discussed.

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