Self-Esteem and college-age women
 

I am currently the Director of Multicultural Affairs at a college. I have noticed more and more, the number of young ladies attending college that have very low self-esteem. I remember when I was in school, there were a few girls who I knew had low self-esteem, but now, it seems like the majority of the incoming freshman women are experiencing it. What are your thoughts? For those of you who are still in college, do you notice it?


I was thinking about holding a special retreat for ladies to help them improve their self-esteem. Do any of you have any books that you could recommend? I was thinking about buying journals, books, and anything else to support the theme of the retreat.

Any advice would be helpful.....:D

I'm still in college, so maybe I can offer you a bit of info from that perspective...

I've been to numerous retreats, and found most of them very effective. To answer you question, yes I have noticed this to happen, and I feel part of it is due to lack of a support network, be it from elder siblings in college, or going away to a new city or state where you don't know anyone and not being familiar with the campus, not knowing what "college" is really like, etc. These are all, in my opinion, natural feelings, that come along with a woman's finding her niche and coming-of-age. Maybe you can address the above at your retreat (s). I have a question though: would this be an activity for girls living in a specific dorm/ residence hall, or for the entire college campus?

If it's for a dorm, then I think this would be a good activity, esp. for the freshmen women (and even more so for those that came to the college not knowing anyone else there). You could have workshops put on by female upperclassmen, tell them about classes and professors, suggest activities and organizations they may be interested in and want to get involved in, and also have some type of activities that help them learn where their strengths lie, what type of personality they have, and about their leadership potential (esp. in relation to what types of organizations and clubs they may want to pursue involvement in).

Another good idea is to have a resource fair, consisting of representatives from various organizations recruiting members for their respective orgs. This could be a campus-wide activity. I've noticed that orgabizational involvement, esp. where it involves taking a leadership role, is a gradual but steady self-esteem booster (can you tell I'm super-involved on my campus? :D).

You could also, if you are speaking generally for the entire female freshmen population, have workshops held in the residence halls (since tons of freshmen live there), and also have some held on your campus. You could even have a series of workshops, focusing on different types of things in relation to self-esteem building, like body image, for example (that's just one of a variety of topics that could be addressed). Having female upperclassmen who exhibit good self-esteem is also, I feel, an integral component of these proposed workshops. In addition, having women that have good self-esteem (like yourself, and others who are going to be around these girls consistently) take part in these workshops is also an essetial part of the workshops and retreat(s)...You may want to contact a women's center/women's health center (if you have one on your campus--sorry, I can't think of any) for assistance on books and other materials. Or you cant contact a local center in your area to give you some direction...

I hope I have helped. Feel free to PM me if I can be of any other assistance...I will try to think of more ideas, and if I come up with some I will post them later.

Reviving Ophelia is a must for those working with young females.

Our school nurse had like ten copies, lol (I went to an all girls school).

Here's an activity we did at the end of pre-camp (camp for counselors) and I did it in my classroom with my juniors. I actually got the idea from a Chicken Soup story.

At the end of the retreat, you have each participant write at least one nice thing about ALL other participants. You as the facilitator collect them and then create a COMPLIMENT page for each participant. I did it with my 11th graders one year (98) and I know at least 3 still have them. I also as their teacher wrote a compliment. Oh and I did not put that So and So said such and such. I just listed each compliment.

I'm still in college and I see this trend on the rise!!!! I also mentor to teen age girls and I see it with them too. I believe that these young people have been told that they are worthless. It's all around them (media, print, community) and when someone is told negative things for so long they begin to think that it must be true. Its a sad situation!

I agree with this statement. Some of the young ladies that I have come into contact with, don't speak highly of the people around them. Simply because those people don't think highly of the young ladies. These ladies just don't seem to value themselves and honor themselves. One young lady told me once, "I'm just glad I graduated from high school before I got pregnant." That was all she was happy about. A lot of young ladies, nowadays, just don't think very highly of themselves. It is very heartbreaking.


Thank you for all of your advice and ideas! They will be put to good use!

Great Idea!!!
 

A retreat is a really great idea because so many young women do have low self-esteem. What's worse is that they do not realize that their self-esteem is low. My roommate has very low self-esteem and I see the negative effects that it has had on her, like being used over and over again by her so called friends and boyfriends.

She is quite resistant and does not believe that she has low self-esteem. One suggestion that I have to try and improve the young women's self-esteem without coming out and telling them that's what you're doing. Some will be resistant, like my roommate, if it's called a self-esteem workshop because they don't think their self-esteem is low or they don't want to be ridiculed or for many other reasons. Make it a healthy living seminar that affirms healthy body images. Or an open forum on relationships where you let the girls know that they are worth more than what they have received.

Re: Great Idea!!!
 

Oh wow.....I'm glad you brought that up. I didn't think about that. I'm sure many of them don't have a clue about their self-esteem. Thank you for addressing that.


Wow, I am so impressed! I am getting some wonderful ideas and advice. I appreciate it so much. And see, people always say that women, especially women of color, can't get along, or help out without hating. Thanks again.....