What Factors Affect Self-Esteem in High School?

Overall, the same kinds of factors that affect self-esteem in adults affect self-esteem in high school students. A teenager’s appearance, successes and achievements, and home life can boost or diminish her self-esteem. Such factors generally fall into one of two categories. Some affect global self-esteem, which is the overall evaluation of one’s self, and others affect situational self-esteem, which is the temporary outlook of one’s self. Sometimes, dealing with self-esteem issues is a normal part of high school, and other times students need help dealing with self-esteem and perhaps other mental health and emotional matters.

The two basic kinds of self-esteem, global self-esteem and situational self-esteem, affect teenagers in many of the same ways they affect adults. Generally, the differences lie in the way adults have learned to cope with these issues. Too, many teenagers focus more on situational, or temporary, self-esteem in high school than they do on global, overall self-esteem. So, high school students might group all common self-esteem factors, such as appearance, involvement, and success, into the global self-esteem category. Yet, some of these factors are temporary and, when altered, can also change the teenagers’ levels of self-esteem.

Outward appearance is one of the most common factors that affect self-esteem in high school. High school students often base a person’s value or worth on his or her appearance. Thus, a student who suffers from acne, doesn’t wear the “right" clothes, or is too thin or overweight might suffer from low self-esteem. Such a student might feel she doesn’t fit in, or others might not want to be friends with her because of these perceived shortcomings. Both situations can lead to low self-esteem.

A student’s involvement in extracurricular activities like clubs, sports, and special events can affect his self-esteem in high school. Often, a high school student who participates in such activities has a high self-esteem, whereas a student who engages in no activities that cultivate and satisfy his interests might suffer from low self-esteem. Success and achievements can help students improve their self-esteem in high school. Making good grades, earning praise and awards, and reaping other benefits from their hard word can help foster a healthy self-esteem. Similarly, students who work hard but receive no recognition, or who do poorly in school, might have low self-esteem.

If a student’s self-esteem is negatively impacted by poor grades, they may benefit from a tutor, which will often be an older student or an adult who has taken and passed the course already. You can find tutors specializing in various high school academic subjects, such as pre calculus tutors. With the help of a tutor, insecure high school students can begin to feel more confident in the classroom and grow their skills in certain subjects.

A student’s home life plays a significant role in his or her emotional and mental well-being. Those who have healthy relationships with their parents and other family members tend to have higher self-esteems than those who have unhealthy, dysfunctional family relationships. Sometimes, students who have poor family relationships will seek nurture and approval from other adults, such as friends’ parents or teachers, but some teenagers either don’t, or feel they don’t, have anyone else to turn to.

For some teens, none of these factors matter in relation to their self-esteem in high school. A student might be attractive, make excellent grades, take part in a variety of extra-curricular activities, and have a loving, supportive home life and still have a low self-esteem. Such students might suffer from depression or other emotional or mental health issues that prevent them from making accurate and healthy evaluations of themselves.

Students who suffer from low self-esteem in high school might benefit from some sort of professional help. Some students find that talking with teachers they trust helps, whereas others seek assistance from school psychologists or outside therapists. These people can help them with ways to improve their evaluations of themselves, and therefore increase their self-esteem.