QUESTION:

WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY?

Low Self-esteem in Academic and Social Settings in University

As university students, we have experienced changes in self-esteem. When most students graduate high school and decide to attend university they usually have high expectations. During their first year they might find courses more difficult than expected and university life hard to handle. These stressors may impact some students' self-esteem as they may begin to doubt their abilities. Therefore our topic evaluates how self-esteem impacts students' mental health while adjusting to a new school environment. As well as how self-esteem also affects social ties in a new environment at university, and research if depression develops from low self-esteem because of hardships academically and socially. An organization we believe this information would be beneficial to is theCanadian Mental Health Associationin the Niagara Region.

When looking at self-esteem it is a fundamental human need. Younger people face a unique kind of challenge when it comes to achieving and maintaining high self-esteem (Minev et al., 2018). In an article by Wouters et al., (2013) they researched freshmen students and how their self-esteem and depression changed throughout months in school. The findings concluded that university freshmen who did feel good and hopeful about themselves had higher levels of depression and low self-esteem 3 months later (Wouters et al., 2013). This study is successful in linking low self-esteem to university students and so we would like to find similar data in a natural setting instead of a lab.

The Canadian Mental Health Association (Niagara Region) is located near two major post-secondary institutions Niagara College and Brock University. They provide mental resources to students from both of these institutions. As such, gaining insight as to some of the difficulties that students face can help them provide adequate resources targeting some of the issues that they face such as low self-esteem. Helping students improve their self-esteem can help reduce the prevalence of depression and anxiety. According to research conducted by Orth et al., (2008) young adults with low self-esteem are at a higher risk of depression especially when they have major life stressors such as school. During university years students experience stressors such as high academic expectations, new environment, and stress about the future, this can lead to a sense of hopelessness and impact how students view themselves. Hopelessness and low-self-esteem can then increase signs of depression (Yanos, 2008).

Prevalence - how many people?

How many University students experience low self esteem in first year compared to fourth year?

-First Year:

-Fourth Year:

How many University students experience feelings of social anxiety in first year compared to fourth year?

• First year:
• Fourth year:

How many University Students feel depressive symptoms in first year compared to the fourth year?

We hypothesize that students in their first year of university experience lower self-esteem than fourth year students. Fourth year students may be more well adjusted to university life than first year students.

Frequency - how often/ on average?

How often do students experience low self-esteem during their first year and fourth year of university?

We hypothesize that students in first year experience low self-esteem more often as they have more stressors and may have a higher probability of doubting their abilities. Although, fourth year students may have other stressors such as graduate school applications and joining the workforce, we suspect that they experience less stressors which may lead to low self-esteem as they are more adjusted to university life and may even experience a sense of relief due to their pending graduation.

Do students feel low self-esteem in academic settings? Do students feel low self esteem in social settings?

Association - is one variable related to another?

Are low self-esteem problems associated with each other e.g., school goals, social ties and depression?

We hypothesize that low self-esteem impacts school goals, school ties, and depression. Students with lower self-esteem may be more likely to experience depression, lack of social ties, and lower interest in school goals.

Predictions:

• Which main first year variables are the best predictor of frequency of low self esteem in fourth year?
• We predict academics and social ties will be the predictor for low self esteem in first year in University.
• We believe having low self-esteem and no social ties will affect students. This will predict their self-esteem 4th year.