Will I Like Myself If You Hurt Me? Experiences of Violence and Adolescents’ Self-Esteem

Abstract

Self-esteem seems to be a crucial factor in adolescents’ psychological well-being. Our study aimed to identify the likelihood of high/medium/low adolescents’ self-esteem in personal experiences of abuse and/or violence (abuse by an adult in childhood, bullying and cyberbullying, and dating violence victimization), different socioeconomic characteristics, perceived social support, and ability to resolve social problems. The study participants were 1451 students from secondary schools (age 13–16) in Spain, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Poland and the UK. We calculated relative risk ratios using multinomial regression models to understand how socioeconomic characteristics, personal experiences of abuse and/or violence, perceived social support, ability to resolve social problems were associated with a self-esteem level. Having no experience of being a victim of physical and sexual abuse in childhood and not being a victim of bullying and cyberbullying is connected with the likelihood of high self-esteem regarding having low self-esteem. Taking as reference those who have never been in a dating relationship, the probability of medium and high self-esteem, decreases when teens are in a romantic or dating relationship and they are victims of intimate partner violence, but the negative effect is explained when other violent variables are included in the model. Being a boy, begin a younger teenager, mother’s paid work, high problem-solving skills and perceptions of social support is in relation with the prospect for higher self-esteem. Promoting adolescent self-esteem means preventing all forms of violence perpetrated by significant others, as well as increasing the ability of youth to seek social support and develop problem-solving skills.

Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization and Associated Factors among Adolescents in Six European Countries

“…The results indicate higher self-esteem has reduced the likelihood of becoming a victim of bullying and or cyberbullying. As noted in the results of previous research, victimization by peers can have a long-term negative impact on self-esteem [26][27][28], but also low self-esteem can be a risk factor for children becoming victims of violence [26]. The results obtained are consistent with the positive youth development model, which assumes that high self-esteem is one of the individual's strengths [23] and enables competent coping with difficulties.…”

“…Self-esteem is related to respect or acceptance by a peer group [24] and can also indicate a person's level of status and acceptance within a social group [25]. Negative peer experiences, such as group rejection or peer violence, can lower adolescents' self-esteem [26][27][28].…”

Natural language processing analysis of the psychosocial stressors of mental health disorders during the pandemic

“…Although less significant, Violence is also a positive predictor of suicidal behavior. This may be due to a direct effect 61 , or to indirect effects on self-image 62 or other suicide risk factors 63 . Both Relational and Sexual diversity themes are significant, but are negative predictors.…”

Parental Intimate Partner Violence and Demographic Variables Predict Self-Esteem Among Adolescents in India during COVID-19

“…However, a new study ( Kidman et al, 2020 ) suggests that preventive measures should start before age 15. It underlines the significance of becoming involved earlier in life while still having the chance to break bad habits and boost self-esteem ( Jankowiak et al, 2021 ). Therefore, it is crucial to understand how parental IPV affects adolescents’ self-esteem.…”