Self-esteem is the opinion one has of themselves. If a person thinks good of themselves, they tend to have a high self-esteem. Someone who feels bad about themselves tends to have a lower self-esteem. Deciding if you have high or low self-esteem depends on many questions. Are you respected by others? Self-esteem is how you view yourself as an overall person. Having good self-esteem means being able to recognize your strengths and weaknesses. When a person frequently compares themselves to others it could affect their self-esteem and diminish their self-confidence. Often, people with low self-esteem do not care about a social life. Some people feel as if they are not worthy of friends or being able to get out to have some fun. Another symptom of having a low self-esteem is difficulty making decisions.

Having low self-esteem comes from developing a poor self-image. Self-image is the way one views themselves. It is important that a person with low self-esteem gets help through counseling or a support group. There are many activities and skills people can learn to help build their self-esteem. A person with good self-esteem should be able to name at least three things they like about themselves and be able to look in the mirror with self-confidence. Low self-esteem magnifies negativity and causes a person to think poorly of themselves. When a person thinks negative, they lose self-confidence in themselves which results in poor self-esteem.

Self Esteem Basics

• National Association for Self-Esteem- Information on an organization that integrates self-esteem into society to help every person develop a sense of self-worth and happiness.
• Illness & Disability: Self Esteem – Girls Health.gov defines self esteem in this easy to understand article.
• The Story on Self Esteem – Kids Health offers a comprehensive page on self esteem, why it’s important, and how to improve it.
• Self Esteem Grows When Children Live With Realistic Expectations- Information on the building blocks for self-esteem for a child.
• Self-Esteem- Learn the benefits of having good self-esteem, what low self-esteem can lead to, influences, and how a person can build self-esteem.
• Self-Esteem- Information on self-esteem including where it comes from and how it affects our life.
• A Three Factor Operational Definition of SELF-ESTEEM - Information on the three factors that heavily correlate with self-esteem.
• Importance of High Self-Esteem: Implicit vs. Explicit Self-Esteem- Information on how evidence shows people with high self-esteem live a happier life.
• Self-Esteem - Why self-esteem is important to children.
• Understanding Adolescent Self-Esteem – Information on self-esteem including what it is, how do we gain it, and the factors that affect it.
• Self-Esteem- Information on what self-esteem is and how to achieve it.

Self Esteem Building Strategies

• Better Self Esteem- Learn steps and suggestions to achieving better self-esteem.
• Improving Self-Esteem- A guide in understanding self-esteem and how to build it.
• Building Self-Esteem with Youth – Information on developing self-esteem in children.
• Boost Your Self Esteem – Girls Health.gov offers advice, tips and strategies for improving self esteem.
• Self-Esteem - Information on how to gain control over your self-esteem and improve it.
• How Can I Improve My Self Esteem?- Learn how to help child’s self-esteem.
• Kids and Self Esteem- Information for parents on how to improve and build their child’s self-esteem and help build a strong family.
• Building Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence- Learn strategies to help build self-esteem.
• The Importance of Self-Esteem in Learning: Building Self-Esteem in School- Information on how low self-esteem can affect your schooling.
• Praise That Builds a Child’s Self-Esteem- Learn how to praise people who have low self-esteem.
• Self Esteem- Information on what self- esteem is and how to stop the thought patterns to improve it.
• Improving Self Esteem – The Centre for Clinical Interventions offers many resources for improving one’s self esteem.

Evaluating Your Self Esteem

• Quiz: Self Esteem and Self Confidence – Girls Health.gov provides an easy to use quiz for rating self esteem and self confidence.
• Self Esteem Assessment – The North Carolina Office of State Personnel provides a self esteem assessment for individuals who want to know where they stand.
• Self-Esteem Test-Abridged – A test to evaluate a persons basic level of self-esteem.
• How Does Your Self-Esteem Hold Up? - A test to evaluate how your self-esteem influences your everyday life choices.
• Self-Esteem Screening Scale- A set of questions to evaluate self-esteem along with simple practices to help build self-esteem.
• The Self Quiz- A quiz of multiple choice questions focusing on self-esteem improvement.
• Who Are You? – A self-help quiz that evaluates your self-esteem.