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Issue Description
Most people will suffer from low self-esteem at some point in their lives. We might worry about the way we look, academic or career performance, how others perceive us and the shape of our bodies. This book looks at issues surrounding positive self-image, self-respect and confidence. It also addresses our relationship with our bodies, media pressures to maintain a certain body shape and the rise of cosmetic surgery.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
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Key Facts
- Having good self-esteem doesn’t mean being arrogant or big-headed; it’s about believing in yourself, and knowing that although you might not be perfect, you’re still a valuable, unique human being. (page 3)
- A survey of 2,004 16- to 25-year-olds conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Prince’s Trust found that 14% of young people felt that life had no purpose and 10% felt life was not worth living. For young people not in education, employment or training, 27% felt that life had no purpose. (page 4)
- Psychologists from the Open University have found that children aged eight and nine had high levels of self-esteem and optimism, but this dipped in adolescence. Sixteen and 17-year-olds had the lowest levels of self-esteem (page 16)
- Body image has to do with how you think about your size and shape. How you think about your body relates to how you think about yourself as a whole, so a negative body image is often linked to low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and feeling bad about yourself. (page 17)
- An Ofsted survey of almost 150,000 children aged 10 to 15 found that 32 per cent of pupils worry about their bodies. (page 17)
- Bliss magazine asked 2000 girls, aged between 10 and 19, how they felt about their bodies. Nine out of ten confessed they weren’t happy with how they looked and two-thirds thought they needed to lose weight. (page 18)
- Research from GirlGuiding UK shows that girls under ten are linking body image and appearance to happiness and self-esteem. (page 21)
- A recent BBC survey highlighted that ‘half of girls aged eight to twelve want to look like the women they see in the media and six out of ten thought they’d be happier if they were thinner’. (page 23)
- Men who regularly read ‘lads’ magazines’ are increas-ingly obsessive about their body image, resulting in them doing excessive exercise and possibly taking steroids to improve their physique, according to a study by University of Winchester psychologist Dr David Giles. (page 28)
- The number of British teenagers having breast surgery increased by more than 150 per cent between 2007 and 2008. (page 32)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One: Self-Esteem
What is self-esteem?, Self-esteem, Do you sometimes wish you were someone else?, How do you really feel about yourself?, ‘Soft skills’ for low self-esteem, Recognise your negative thinking patterns, Learn how to be your own best friend, Confidence and self-esteem, Building your child’s confidence and self-esteem, Assertiveness, How do other people see you?, High self-esteem not always what it’s cracked up to be, Can we teach people to be happy?, Psychologists research the rollercoaster of life.
Chapter Two: Body Image
Teens and body image, Mirror image, Problems and improvement, Women still aiming for size zero, Girls as young as seven concerned about body image, Celebrity culture, Body images, Blame Mummy, not Madonna, Salons boom as girls yearn to grow up fast, The impact of body-emphasising video games, Link between lads’ magazines and body image, Body dysmorphic disorder, Lessons on the body politic, The unkindest cut of all, Angelina Jolie’s lips inspire cosmetic surgery, Over 34,100 aesthetic surgery procedures in 2008, Cosmetic surgery, Cosmetic surgery: teens just ‘not bovvered’, Love your body, Improve body image, Link between teenage girls’ self-esteem and sport.
Key Facts
Glossary
Index
Additional Resources
Acknowledgements
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The Study Guide for: Body Image and Self-Esteem - Volume 170
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.95
ISBN: Coming September 2009
