Self-Esteem and Body Image: Impact on Adolescent Behavior & Well-being

This essay delves into the significant impact of self-esteem and body image on adolescent behavior and overall well-being during the critical teenage years (13-19). It highlights the various challenges teenagers face, including social pressures, hormonal changes, and academic stress, which can lead to issues like depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse. The paper emphasizes the importance of self-esteem as a reflection of self-worth and how body image, influenced by media, family, and school environments, affects teenagers' perceptions of themselves. It also discusses assessment strategies for identifying body dissatisfaction and negative self-perception, ethical considerations for sharing information with parents, and support options for teenagers to manage stress and improve their self-esteem. The essay concludes by advocating for positive reinforcement from family and friends and encouraging parents to set good examples to foster a healthy body image and promote academic success and overall well-being in adolescents. Desklib provides numerous resources for students.

Running Head: SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY IMAGE 1
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Running Head: SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY IMAGE 2
Self-esteem and Body Image
Teenagers encounter several challenges at their awkward stage of growth of their lives.
At the age of 13 to 19 years, teenagers are subjected to internal and external contemporary issues
in which they are required to cope up with. They experience social problem, changes in their
hormones, the pressure at school, and parental forces in their daily lives. These issues include
depression, eating disorders, teenage pregnancies, stress, addiction, drugs and substance abuse,
peer pressure, self-esteem, and body image (Braun, 2016). Moreover, teenagers feel frustrated
and stressed when they face problems related to self-esteem and body image. Hence this paper
addresses the effect of self-esteem and body image on adolescent behavior and how it relates to
their well-being.
Self-esteem is the reflection of the self-worth of a person consisting of beliefs of the
individual and response involving emotions towards the beliefs. In adolescents, self-esteem is
crucial in addressing challenges in life successfully for mental health and progress. Besides,
body image creates an impact on teenagers’ feelings about themselves. For instance, they
become more cautious about the change and growth happening in their body at the adolescent
stage. Hence, the external factors that affect a teens self-esteem and body image are the cultural
influences and media, the environment in school, and the family. The media offer guidelines for
what is perceived as beautiful hence teens compare themselves with such images making them
suffer from self-esteem and doubts about their appearances (Rodgers, Damiano, Wertheim, &
Paxton, 2017). Family affects the teenager's self-esteem and body image through criticizing
choices and appearances that teenagers prefer as the most worth hence causing pressure to the
teenagers.

Running Head: SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY IMAGE 3
Moreover, the assessment strategies for an adolescent patient for self-esteem and body
image encompasses body dissatisfaction, concerns with an individual’s weight, physical shape,
and appearance. In addition, an individual will have negative feelings and a feeling of
worthlessness, never appreciates oneself and always perceives himself as a failure and cannot
achieve his objectives for future (Brechan, 2015). Further assessment questions that a
practitioner would ask the victim include obsessive use of a mirror, consistent blame of
imperfections, comparing one's body shape and size to others and envy towards fellow teenagers’
bodies. On the other hand, the ethical parameters concerning what I can share with the parent
include a situation whereby privacy becomes more intricate and thus certain information should
be shared with the parent or guardian and when severe harm and threats, abuse and neglect
should be shared with the parent. However, things that might disrupt a treatment program and the
teenager's feelings of information disclosed to the parent without their consent should not be
revealed to the parent. Therefore, a teenager’s privacy and a greater sense of self and more
exceptional advocate for independence requires respect of the highest order towards their
privacy.
Furthermore, teenagers need to support options to overcome stress. Hence, they should be
encouraged to share their concerns freely with others to get assistance, focus on the things that
they can control and set manageable goals. Besides, they should exercise regularly, relax their
body muscles through various activities, learn from mistakes, and abandon the perception of the
idea of perfection and always lower expectations that seem unrealistic. Changing their self-
esteem and body image by recognizing traits about themselves that seem outstanding and still
work on being healthy, active, and appreciate themselves as they are. They should speak to

Running Head: SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY IMAGE 4
professionals such as doctors on issues affecting them, such as weight after which they will be
guided on managing techniques while maintaining their healthier and stronger bodies.
Finally, teenagers should get compliments instead of criticisms from their families and
friends to improve their thoughts and control their negative feelings (Grogan, 2016). In
additions, parents are to set good examples and be a role model for their children to impact their
self-esteem. By changing the lifestyle choices, eating habits, and attitudes on one's body, a
teenager will become more concerned with development issues and focus on academics to excel
and have a brighter future (Grogan, 2016). A parent that criticizes the child often makes the child
have low self-esteem and always thinks on how to improve on the flaws indicated by the parent.
Therefore, parents and guardians are urged to speak constructively and help their teenagers learn
to realize and pursue good hygiene, overcome stressful situations, and attain good health. The
teens should be assisted on the skeptical images they observe in media and magazines to enable
them to understand that such appearances might not be healthy and instead help them learn that a
person of good character is the most beautiful ever.

Running Head: SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY IMAGE 5
References
Braun, T. D. (2016). Self-compassion, body image, and disordered eating: A review of the
literature. Body image, 17, 117-131.
Brechan, I. K. (2015). Relationship between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating:
Mediating role of self-esteem and depression. Eating behaviors, 17, 49-58.
Grogan, S. (2016). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women and
children. Routledge.
Rodgers, R. F., Damiano, S. R., Wertheim, E. H., & Paxton, S. J. (2017). Media exposure in very
young girls: Prospective and cross-sectional relationships with BMIz, self-esteem and
body size stereotypes. Developmental psychology, 53(12).