– How you felt about yourself in your youth still affects you almost 30 years later. It’s quite amazing that it works that way. That’s according to research fellow Anne-Marie Fluit at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo. She and several other researchers have used data from the large survey Young in Norway to arrive at the result. 2,215 Norwegians have been followed from the time they were around 15 years old in 1992 until they were approximately 43 years old in 2020. That is, over 28 years. The findings are clear, according to the researchers: Those who have had poor self-esteem in adolescence ended up being more negative about immigration, equality and social equality than others. Or less “woke”, if you like. Lifts themselves up by looking down on others The same applied to those who had good self-esteem as young people, but did not get the extra boost that most people get on their way into adulthood. The study also shows that the 15-year-olds who had good self-esteem were more inclusive as adults than others. During the 28 years the people were followed, it was measured five times how confident they were in themselves. The last time they were also asked about attitudes to #metoo, immigration and so on. The researchers found the same connection between self-esteem and attitudes in both men and women. Fluit explains that everyone has a need to feel good about themselves. It helps us when we meet others or have to do a job well. But some people struggle with self-esteem. They will unconsciously do more things to feel better about themselves: – Like looking down on others. It can increase your own social status. You might think, “I’m not the best, but at least I’m better than the immigrants. Or I do it better than women”. Scholarship holder at UiO, Anne-Marie Fluit. Photo: Tron Trondal / UiO What is the difference between self-esteem and self-confidence? People with good self-esteem have faith in their own mastery and achievement. People with good self-esteem realize that they have value as human beings. A value regardless of how they perform, for example, or what others may think. The researchers at UiO have thus found that those with poor self-esteem become more negative about immigration and equality, among other things. Several have extreme attitudes – We live in a society today where we see tendencies towards greater polarisation, says Tilmann von Soest. The professor at the University of Oslo is one of the other researchers behind the study. He mentions, among other things, Trump in the USA and Brexit in the UK as examples of the polarisation. – In other countries too, we see that more and more people have attitudes that are extreme. It is then important to look at what experiences and feelings people have, and how they relate to this type of attitude. How to get better self-esteem? – Self-esteem is something we can do something about. It has the potential to both make your own life and that of others better. Because people with good self-esteem are more inclusive than others, says Anne-Marie Fluit. But that is perhaps easier said than done? Professor von Soest has some clear advice. Both for you who want to build your own self-esteem – and for you who want to help a friend or family member with it. – An important aspect for your own well-being and self-esteem is to continue with activities you enjoy and consider meaningful, says von Soest. Professor at UiO, Tilmann von Soest. Photo: Cicilie Andersen / news In addition, he advises you to help people who need it and involve yourself in other people’s lives. – Then you often get positive feedback on yourself as a person, which strengthens your sense of self. All people need care and love throughout their lives, emphasizes the professor. As a friend or family member, he believes we have a job to do to see those around us and remind them that they are valuable. Believes politicians have a job to do Anne-Marie Fluit believes politicians could do well to do more things to improve the self-esteem of young people. – We can also ask ourselves as a society: Why do people have low self-esteem in the first place? If we change society so that people can grow and flourish, that is a better approach than doing small things. Von Soest has several proposals for change: – Create an inclusive working life. Create an inclusive school. Also create inclusive leisure arenas. These are measures at community level that can help people feel better about themselves – and thus get political attitudes that are more inclusive. The Norwegian study is published in PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Young people with poor self-esteem are more negative about equality and immigrants as adults – news Trøndelag
