Development of self-esteem

Self-esteem refers to an individual’s overall evaluation of his or her own worth. It includes ideas such as self-confidence, self-respect, pride in oneself and faith in one's abilities.

Most preschoolers have high self-esteem however, as children enter school and receive more feedback about how well they perform in comparison to their peers, self-esteem starts to adjust to a more realistic level.

By the age of 6 to 7 years of age, children have formed opinions of themselves in at least 4 broad areas. These are their academic competence, social competence, physical or athletic competence and their physical appearance. Combining these allows the child to develop a sense of self-esteem. However, at this age, they tend to attach greater importance to physical appearance. Therefore, media and societal values on appearance in general have significant implications for a young person’s overall sense of satisfaction with themselves.

Gender stereotypes also affect self-esteem. It has been found that the more a 5 to 8 year old girl talked to friends about appearance, weight and media representations, the lower their self-esteem and sense of self-worth a year later.

Likewise, parental styles can influence self-esteem.