It’s the age-old question of what comes first: the chicken or the egg? Are people with higher self-esteem more likely to develop meaningful relationships or do people with more social support experience a boost to their self-esteem? According to a recent study, the answer is both! Self-esteem has a bidirectional relationship with the quality of one’s relationships.
Factors Contributing to Self-Esteem
The authors found that positive social relationships, social support, and social acceptance help shape the development of self-esteem in people over time. Most people who struggle with low self-esteem have had experiences where they have felt isolated from others and rejected by others. This contributes to feeling insecure about accomplishments and being scared of failure in terms of reaching their goals and meeting other people’s expectations.
Positive Social Relationships
“When self-esteem or quality of social relationships is low,” study author Michelle A. Harris, PhD, noted “it can negatively affect the other factor, and set off a downward spiral, making clinical interventions especially important to offset this potentially adverse development.”
Positive relationships with parents cultivate self-esteem in children, which leads to more positive relationships with peers in adolescence and young adulthood. Young adults who have struggled to connect with others through childhood are more at risk of being bullied, which reinforces low self-esteem.
Social Support
Boys are socialized to compete with others through sports and other social activities, while girls are encouraged to express their emotions and value the opinions of friends. As a result, boys are more likely to struggle with feeling like they can turn to others for social support. Boys believe that being insecure is a sign of weakness and are less likely to verbalize negative beliefs about themselves or their relationships. While girls are more likely to build friendships based off shared values, boys bond over shared activities, which can involve positive activities like sports or video games or could lead to substance use or other risky behaviors.
Group therapy helps young adults find social support among their peers by encouraging them to be honest about their experiences and ask others for feedback. It teaches boys important social skills, like active listening, showing empathy, taking other people’s perspectives, and sustaining conversations.
Social Acceptance
In a transitional living setting where young adults have more social support than they would living independently, they feel a greater sense of belonging and social acceptance. There is less pressure to prove to others that they have high self-esteem and “cool interests.” With greater social support, boys learn to accept where they are at emotionally and take responsibility for things they want to change in their lives without internalizing messages that they are a failure and won’t amount to anything.
Many young adults who have grown up feeling “different” or insecure have struggled to take risks in putting themselves out there and following through with their goals because of their fear of rejection. The structure of a transitional program encourages young adults to work and volunteer in the community and participate in a variety of recreation activities that help boost their self-esteem and self-efficacy.
Foundations Asheville Can Help
Foundations Asheville is a program for young adults ages 18-25 who struggle with social functioning. The facility is a home-like setting, giving students the opportunity to learn how to apply healthy habits in the real world. Foundations Asheville emphasizes the importance of being responsible, independent, and engaged in the world around. The transitional living program benefits students and leaves them feeling more empowered than ever before. Let us help your family today!
Contact us at (877) 318 – 7273!
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