Before we mature to adults, we have all been through a strenuous and traumatic period of adolescence. Adolescence starts in puberty and ends in adulthood. It is a period of shocking physical and psychological evolution that is usually filled with numerous conflicts and problems. In order to minimize tensions, we need to understand the source of the problem. We need to understand how adolescents make their decisions, their emotions, and the factors affecting their thoughts. One of the biggest concerns for adolescents is about establishing a high self-esteem.
For adolescents, self-esteem is of very great importance and provides a psychological advantage to those not lacking it. According to the attachment theory in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, self-esteem is affected since toddler hood. For instance, a child that is given sufficient attention and sensitivity will deem himself or herself as a person of importance. However, a child that lacks care and attention will suppose that they are worthless and undeserving. These negative or positive constructs of self image will be carried throughout the lifespan of the child. Therefore, when adolescents greatly lack confidence and self-esteem, we have to examine how they were treated as a child by their parents and friends. A strong direct relationship with parental figures is closely related to self-esteem. Adolescents with secure attachments to parents had higher levels of self-esteem than those having insecure attachments. This states to us that if we want to help raise their self-esteems, then it will not take a short period of time to achieve success, if any at all, for they may have been neglected and feeling undesirable their whole lives. Parents who allow openness and are receptive of new ideas can have a positive effect on their child's self-esteem. Parents should be authoritative and not authoritarians. Do not just tell your child what to do, but rather give them choices and establish an open relationship where they can communicate with you. Other parental factors include encouragement for children to form their own view points, as well as a secure family relationship to form a basis for exploration.
Another factor that affects esteem is the discrepancies between future goals and the present state. Goals that are too hard to achieve can lower esteem if they do not achieve those goals. It will lead to dissatisfaction and disvalue of self. However, goals that are attainable and are fulfilled turn into a source of strengthening. This idea is present in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. The 4-process model shows that discrepancy-reducing processes have two processes called the assimilative process and accommodative process. The assimilative process calls for the change of state to achieve the goal and the accommodative process requires adjustment of the goal to restrictions and resources. The discrepancy-producing processes contain the state diminishing processes and goal heightening processes. The diminishing of state for achieving a goal is called the state diminishing processes and goal heightening processes is when the goal is increased. Results of the research shown in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence that adolescents increase esteems with the assimilative processes. It seems that they never want to step down from anything and always wanting to climb up to the level of the task.
When adolescents need a boost to their self-esteem, there are different ways to get the increase they need. According to the Journal of Early Adolescence, focus groups are a popular choice for intervention of negative behaviors. It is a great way to get information and solutions on how to build an effective strategy to enhance self-esteem. These programs have been effective in improving self-esteem and reducing some of the negative behaviors of adolescents. Low self-esteem causes feelings of depression, which causes an increase in feelings of low self-esteem. The conventional way for intervention of low self-esteem has been individual interventions involving tasks to help them feel better about themselves. Research shows that self-esteem is only a measurement of one's social acceptance and successfulness of interpersonal skills. New intervention strategies then must focus on helping the adolescents gain interpersonal skills. Competition and poor family relationships also associate with depression and negative behaviors. A sense of belonging appears to be essential to the adolescents’ survivals and developments. Persons with especially low self-esteem find it particularly beneficial to belong to a group where the communal self-esteem may be boosted through discrimination of other groups. However, these focus groups do not create a long lasting enhancement of self-esteem. The feelings dissipate quite rapidly after they leave the session. The enhancement is relatively small and when the effectiveness level is compared to that of an adult’s program, the number is about half as high. The adult’s effectiveness level is at .52, but the adolescents’ effectiveness is at only .23. Even though, they can help those with a need for stronger self-esteem, they cannot help to prevent those with sufficient with it from declining. Another downside to these programs is that they cannot enhance those with low self-esteem due to low financial status. Successful interventions for adolescents’ depressions and low self-esteems include medical interventions, therapy, workshops, exercise, and athletic participation
The studies from the Journal of Adolescence and the Journal of Early Adolescence put are three important aspects of adolescents’ self-esteems. It depends on your relationship with your parents and family, yourself and what you do or want to do, and effectiveness of focus groups for self enhancement. It is not enough to look at only one aspect of things. These three articles compliment each other and provide deep insights for understanding of adolescents. These ideas will keep people alert and conscious to what they say and how they deal with children. Everything we do should be to encourage confidence. Parents should treat their children positively to get across feelings of love and acceptance. Belittling comparisons with others and threats will translate negatively and this can lead to negative self talk and low self-esteem. Children with low self esteem may avoid difficult activities, will quit, or cheat when things do not go as planned. They may also be a bully, bossy, have a low level of self control, and have difficulty making friends. Children with high self esteem are likely to believe in themselves and feel a sense of significance. Self esteem affects how they will approach tasks or challenges and how they interact with others. Children with high self esteem have a sense of trust, security, and feel accepted by others. They are eager to take on challenging or difficult tasks.

I have been through a tough adolescence. However, I was lucky to not have gone through any big problems or did stuff like smoking and drinking. Even though, my parents sometimes did belittle me and compared me to many other people, they still supported me and were always telling me positive things to encourage me. My friends are always supportive of me and my confidence is now higher than it ever was. Also, I am now more aware of how I treat other people and what I say to them.


Bibliography:
David, D.L., Erika, L. M., & Kelle, R., Gilbert, P. R. (2003). Effective Strategies For Self-Esteem Enhancement: What Do Young Adolescents Have to Say? Journal of Early Adolescence, 23, 405-434.

Martin, P., Rainer, S. K., & Margit, W. (2004). Changes in Discrepancies Between Desired and Present State of Developmental Task in Adolescence: A 4 Process Model, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 467-477.

Ross, W. B. (2004). The Role of Parents and Peer Attachment in the Psychological Health and Self-Esteem of Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 479-493.

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