Paper 1: Study one investigates the relationship between the ages of children and young people in years 5-9 and their levels of body esteem, perceived pressure from family, friends and the media, internalisation of societal standards of attractiveness and social comparison.169 participants aged 9-14 years completed four questionnaires: the Body Esteem Scale for Children, the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale, the general internalisation subscale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3 and the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale. Results indicated that relationships existed between the age of participants and their scores on these questionnaires, but only for girls. For girls, a significant negative correlation was found between age in months and scores on the Body Esteem Scale for Children, and a significant positive correlation was found between age in months and scores on the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale, the general internalisation subscale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3 and the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale. No relationship between age in months and scores on the questionnaires were found for boys. Boys also had significantly higher body esteem than girls and there were significant correlations between scores on the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale, the general internalisation subscale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3, the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale and the Body Esteem Scale for Children. Results are discussed with reference to the gender differences, as well as the role of pressure, internalisation and social comparison in the development of body esteem in children and young people. Paper 2: Study two has a positive psychology focus and is a qualitative study of children and young people with positive body esteem. 10 participants from the initial sample of 169 participants from study one with the highest levels of body esteem were selected for interview. The aim of the research was to discover what children with positive body esteem say about their own appearance, exercise, the influence of family, friends and school, and also about appearance ideals. Thematic analysis revealed that children and young people with positive body esteem have a sense of global satisfaction with their appearance but did not place great importance on appearance. Appearance was rarely discussed with significant others in their lives, although many participants described receiving compliments about their appearance. Where negative comments had been received, these were dismissed as jokes or not important. When asked about appearance ideals, the children and young people in the current study discussed controllable aspects of appearance such as clothes and hairstyles; however, they often rejected appearance ideals and instead defined beauty more widely. Finally, exercise and sport were an important part of these children and young people’s lives, with a number of participants competing at a high level. Findings are discussed with particular reference to previous work with Swedish adolescents by Frisén and Holmqvist (2010) and Holmqvist and Frisén (2012).

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

A descriptive study was conducted to determine the level of self-esteem in elderly women in two different settings, the community and the nursing home, and if there was a difference in the level of self-esteem between the groups. The relationship between self-esteem and the intervening variables of loss, health, role fulfillment, social support, and control was examined. Thirty subjects, aged 69 to 92 years, participated in the study, 15 from the community and 15 from a nursing home. The questionnaire focused on demographic data, intervening variables scales, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale to determine the level of self-esteem. The data revealed no significant difference of self-esteem between the two groups (p = 0.46). Community subjects showed a significant relationship between self-esteem and financial status (p = 0.001). Nursing home subjects showed significant relationships between self-esteem and age (p = 0.05), self-health (p = 0.004), compared health (p = 0.04), and control (p = 0.001).

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Representations of people with a developmental disability are virtually not covered in the media. Although there is little coverage of people with developmental disabilities in the media, there are a few entertainment television characters who have Down syndrome and are represented in the media. This study will take a look at the history of how people with disabilities were represented in the media and examine how two television characters with Down syndrome were portrayed on the shows by examining their self-esteem. This study seeks to focus on portrayal of people with Down Syndrome because the physical features that people with Down Syndrome possess are easy to identify. Specifically, the study examines the portrayal of self-esteem in two television characters, Corky Thatcher (Life Goes On) and Becky Faye Jackson (Glee). The researcher will also examine how the portrayal of self-esteem in the two characters is similar or different in people who have Down Syndrome. In the study the researcher found that the representation of the character Corky was different from the character Becky. But both characters tackled issues that affected the Down Syndrome community and it affected their self-esteem. Corky and Becky were different from the interviewees in the way they realized their competencies. Although the interviewees who have Down Syndrome and the television characters used self-evaluation differently to evaluate one's own self-esteem, they all seem to exhibit a positive level of self-esteem.

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Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Although several studies have examined the benefits of sport participation for women, few have centered on women of color in particular. Furthermore, the association between how athletic involvement affects one?s likelihood of victimization has yet to be fully explained. Using data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this research employs structural equation modeling techniques to explore the relationship among adolescent females' racial diversity, differential participation in an active sport, and levels of self-esteem to determine how these variables affect victimization patterns in adulthood. Results indicate that female athletic participation has a highly statistically significant positive impact on self-esteem; however, athletic participation and self-esteem levels in adolescent females are not significantly related to their victimization by intimate partners in young adulthood. These results suggest that concentration on victims' characteristics is not necessarily beneficial in order to develop a better understanding of violence; where perhaps instead, research should more closely examine the attributes of perpetrators and societal institutions when exploring how and why violence occurs and who is affected by it.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine whether self-esteem can be affected by unemployment and whether social support, self efficacy and perceived control have any effects on self-esteem during unemployment.   Method: The study was of a quantitative and descriptive character and a convenience sample was used. Questionnaires were distributed to 64 unemployed males and females at a job-centre inEast Midland,England. The questionnaire consisted of 12 questions about the participant’s age, gender, education, length of unemployment, social support (meaning emotional support and help from friends and family), coping (meaning a person’s ability to handle a stressful and emotionally demanding situation).Rosenberg's self-esteem scale was also added into the questionnaire and the results were then analyzed by using a Likert scale.   Results: The results showed, that the majority of the unemployed scored 30 or higher on the self-esteem scale which indicates a low self-esteem according toRosenberg's self-esteem scale. Regarding social support from friends during job loss or unemployment, the majority of the unemployed with a low self-esteem, felt they didn't have social support from friends during unemployment. A small part of the unemployed who had high self-esteem, felt they had social support from friends during unemployment.   Discussion: Self-esteem is complex, and it was difficult to generalize the results in this study. However, it seems that social support, self efficacy and coping were important aspects regarding self-esteem.