SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONCEPT
Self-esteem can be defined as self-confidence; it means one believing in themselves and their abilities. Culture is the art, and other manifestations, ideas, and social behavior of a particular people. Culture distinguishes a community and makes it unique with unique practices. Ethnicity is linked to cultural expression, and the race is the genetic composition that decides one’s color of skin and texture of hair. The way a person is raised and the culture in which they grow up determines the kind of adult they turn out to be. When one is built in an environment where people discriminated against, it is likely to affect how they see themselves and tampers with their self-esteem.
For example, an African American who has grown in an environment that treats the color of his skin as a threat has low self-esteem. This is because when young white kids are taught how to skate and swim, an African American kid is trained to run when they see the cops. They are being taught to always stay on guard because the police or government will not protect you, and the system will swallow you up the first chance they get. A child born in such a culture of fear and inferiority is likely to have low self-esteem and think of themselves as less valuable to society.
Children whose parents are going through a divorce have been known to have low self-esteem and also displaying poor judgment decisions. Children going through this are characterized by an inability to express themselves positively. This affects their social life because, with such a character, it becomes hard to make friends and, even worse, keep them. They also, more often than not, have mastered the art of keeping things to themselves, which makes their anxiety to build up with episodes of intense sadness. Children whose parents are going through divorce are more likely to experience withdrawals that could affect their appetite and overall health. They are also more prone to drug abuse, which could affect their physical and mental health. Parents who handle divorce well are likely to affect the kids positively. If divorce means less fighting and more love from both parents, children may respond positively to divorce.
The stress levels are relatively higher in adolescents. This is because they go through a lot of hormonal imbalance as their body changes from childhood to adulthood. These hormonal imbalances cannot be linked directly to stress psychologically, to the brain of an adolescent; the stress rates have been recorded higher in adolescents. They are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, and prone to drug abuse. Overall, I do not think there is a certain age in one’s life than another. Research has shown older adults to be more likely to suffer from stress, from dealing with terminal illnesses to developing disabilities and coping with the death of peers, friends, and loved ones. However, middle-aged people also deal with a lot of stress, mortgages, raising families, midlife crisis divorce; all these are significant characteristics that cause stress to the middle-aged. The young adults battle with uncertainty, wondering what paths their lives will take career-wise, romantically. This has caused a lot of pressure for that age bracket. Overall, all age groups come with their challenges; stress levels have everything to do with the current mental state of a person regardless of age.