The Familial Effects of Self-Esteem on Asian American Adolescents
Lindsay Wakayama
Introduction
Identity development is difficult for any individual during adolescence. Adolescence is the transition from the reliance on others in childhood to the autonomy of the self in adulthood. It is a challenging time, both for the individuals living it, as well as for those surrounded by it. Filled with emotional turbulence, overwhelming insecurity, and verbal miscommunication, adolescents feel caught up in an unending battle between themselves and the rest of the world, all while simultaneously trying to gain insight into who they are as individuals. Understanding the hardships adolescents face appears rather complicated. Moreover, accounting for …show more content…
Bachman, O’Malley, Freedman-Doan, Trzesniewski, and Donnellan (2011) define global self-esteem as “an individual’s overall evaluation of self,” (p. 445). The origins of self-esteem have been debated. One perspective is that self-esteem stems from the theory of Reflected Appraisal, also known as “The Looking Glass Self,” as defined by Charles Cooley (Felson and Reed, 1986). The theory of Reflected Appraisal posits that an individual’s perception of themselves is based on how he or she believes others view him or her (Bachman et al., 2011). In other words, a person’s self-esteem is dependent upon the way in which he or she perceives others view him or her. In the case of adolescents, this perception may not always be fully understood, which can be problematic, by potentially leading to an incorrect assumption of significant others’ perceptions, resulting in a negative self-image. In research, significant others for adolescents have been operationally defined as parents, teachers, peers, and romantic …show more content…
Unfortunately, this positive perception of Asian Americans has negative consequences. By viewing Asian Americans with high regard, individuals run the risk of downplaying the severity of Asian Americans’ mental health problems, and sometimes, ignoring that such issues exist altogether. Due to psychology’s origins from a Westernized, individualistic perspective of the self, Asian Americans with Eastern, collectivistic backgrounds may have different notions of the self, and may be more inclined to conceal their mental health concerns and seek psychological support (Zhou et al., 2009). Thus, it is important to take aspects of the Asian American culture into consideration when working with that population in a clinical
Lindsay Wakayama
Introduction
Identity development is difficult for any individual during adolescence. Adolescence is the transition from the reliance on others in childhood to the autonomy of the self in adulthood. It is a challenging time, both for the individuals living it, as well as for those surrounded by it. Filled with emotional turbulence, overwhelming insecurity, and verbal miscommunication, adolescents feel caught up in an unending battle between themselves and the rest of the world, all while simultaneously trying to gain insight into who they are as individuals. Understanding the hardships adolescents face appears rather complicated. Moreover, accounting for …show more content…
Bachman, O’Malley, Freedman-Doan, Trzesniewski, and Donnellan (2011) define global self-esteem as “an individual’s overall evaluation of self,” (p. 445). The origins of self-esteem have been debated. One perspective is that self-esteem stems from the theory of Reflected Appraisal, also known as “The Looking Glass Self,” as defined by Charles Cooley (Felson and Reed, 1986). The theory of Reflected Appraisal posits that an individual’s perception of themselves is based on how he or she believes others view him or her (Bachman et al., 2011). In other words, a person’s self-esteem is dependent upon the way in which he or she perceives others view him or her. In the case of adolescents, this perception may not always be fully understood, which can be problematic, by potentially leading to an incorrect assumption of significant others’ perceptions, resulting in a negative self-image. In research, significant others for adolescents have been operationally defined as parents, teachers, peers, and romantic …show more content…
Unfortunately, this positive perception of Asian Americans has negative consequences. By viewing Asian Americans with high regard, individuals run the risk of downplaying the severity of Asian Americans’ mental health problems, and sometimes, ignoring that such issues exist altogether. Due to psychology’s origins from a Westernized, individualistic perspective of the self, Asian Americans with Eastern, collectivistic backgrounds may have different notions of the self, and may be more inclined to conceal their mental health concerns and seek psychological support (Zhou et al., 2009). Thus, it is important to take aspects of the Asian American culture into consideration when working with that population in a clinical