TY - JOUR PY - 2023// TI - Self-esteem levels in school-going adolescents across the slums of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional analysis JO - Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry A1 - Sharif, Hina A1 - Sharif, Sana A1 - Naeem, Hira A1 - Seemi, Tooba SP - e1175826 EP - e1175826 VL - 2 IS - N2 - INTRODUCTION: For individuals to live their lives and integrate into society, self-esteem is an essential feeling. Self-esteem development depends on the environment in which children are nurtured. Assessment techniques using questionnaires include Rosenberg's self-esteem scale. Objective: The study aimed to assess the self-esteem of school-going adolescents in slum areas. Methodology: This school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in three understudied slum areas of Karachi, Pakistan. A standardized scale, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), and a pre-tested demographic scale was used to assess the impact of gender, weight, academic performance, tuition, and parent's education level along with parent's strictness on the self-esteem of the understudied population of adolescents aged between 11 and 19 years included in the study. Parent consent was obtained before visiting the schools. Findings: As per the collected data on self-esteem, among 539 school-going adolescents, 232 (43%) were male and 307 (57%) were female. Most students, 324 (60%), were in the 14-16 age range. Parents' education status and strictness towards their children, academic performance, and adolescent body mass index (BMI) influenced self-esteem levels. Conclusion: The study found that age, parent's education, parent's strictness, BMI, and academic performance were linked to the levels of self-esteem in the target population regardless of gender. Children's surroundings play an imperative role in developing lower or higher self-esteem in children. Assessing adolescent's self-esteem can be a useful way to build strong self-confident youngster and also beneficial to treatment for those with psychosomatic complaints in their growing age.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 2813-4540 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frcha.2023.1175826 ID - ref1 ER -