Positive relationships boost self-esteem and vice versa

                                                       

                                          

                              Robust reciprocal link found across life span

Date:
September 26, 2019
Source:
American Psychological Association
Summary:
Does having close friends boost your self-esteem, or does having high self-esteem influence the quality of your friendships? Both, according to a meta-analysis of more than two decades of research.

Does having close friends boost your self-esteem, or does having high self-esteem influence the quality of your friendships?

Both, according to a meta-analysis of more than two decades of research, published by the American Psychological Association.

"For the first time, we have a systematic answer to a key question in the field of self-esteem research: Whether and to what extent a person's social relationships influence his or her self-esteem development, and vice versa, and at what ages," said study author Michelle A. Harris, PhD, of The University of Texas at Austin. "The answer to what age groups is across the life span."

The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Harris and her co-author, Ulrich Orth, PhD, of the University of Bern, analyzed 52 studies involving more than 47,000 participants (54% female) looking at either the effect of self-esteem on social relationships over time or the reverse effect. The studies, all published between 1992 and 2016, included multiple countries (e.g., 30 samples from the United States, four from Switzerland, three from Germany, two each from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Greece, Russia and Sweden). Participants were 60% white, 2% Hispanic/Latino, 12% other predominantly another ethnicity and 19% mixed ethnicities. Samples ranged from early childhood to late adulthood.

The authors found that positive social relationships, social support and social acceptance help shape the development of self-esteem in people over time across ages 4 to 76. The authors also found a significant effect in the reverse direction. While earlier research had yielded inconsistent findings, the meta-analysis supports the classic and contemporary theories of the influence of self-esteem on social connections and the influence of social connections on self-esteem, according to Harris. The findings were the same after accounting for gender and ethnicity.

"The reciprocal link between self-esteem and social relationships implies that the effects of a positive feedback loop accumulate over time and could be substantial as people go through life," according to Harris.

The authors discuss the idea that positive relationships with parents may cultivate self-esteem in children, which leads to more positive relationships with peers in adolescence, which may further strengthen the self-esteem of emerging adults, and so on into late adulthood. However, the field is still in need of an integrated theory that can explain whether relationships have such a cumulative effect across life, or whether certain relationships become particularly important at certain ages.

When self-esteem or quality of social relationships is low, Harris noted, it can negatively affect the other factor, and set off a downward spiral, making clinical interventions especially important to offset this potentially adverse development.

"The fact that the effect did not differ significantly among studies with different sample characteristics strengthens confidence in the robustness of our findings," said Harris.

"We found a limited number of longitudinal studies on self-esteem and specific relationships in adulthood as well as studies using measures other than self-report, so our findings only begin to speak to these groups, and we look forward to future work oriented towards filling these gaps."


Story Source:

Materials provided by American Psychological Association. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Michelle A. Harris and Ulrich Orth. The Link Between Self-Esteem and Social Relationships: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2019 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000265

Cite This Page:

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American Psychological Association. "Positive relationships boost self-esteem, and vice versa: Robust reciprocal link found across life span." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 September 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190926092416.htm>.

Older Women and the Battle of Our Skin

                                                                                   

                                              Older Women Makeup Tips : Over age 50

This is one thing that I find myself wondering about sometimes, mainly because I see so many older women wearing too much makeup. Some may be wearing the wrong makeup.

When you're younger, you may get away with it. But it's different for older women. We are bombarded with ads that want to sell us creams, lotions, all sorts of potions, with the goal of making us look younger. And then there are hundreds of different makeups, with a huge variety of shades...you buy it, get it home, it's too dark or too light. You end up with a drawer full of nothing that works.

After all of this aggravation, I end up wearing no makeup. 

Looking around online for tips can be just as frustrating. 

For me, I don't care about looking younger, I just want to look healthy. I care about my appearance and want makeup that gives me that result.

So, I hope the following tips help..

I found advice on liveabout.com 

1. Your skin is always first.

I like this tip. She says in this tip, the better your skin, the less makeup you'll need. Keeping your skin well-hydrated and exfoliated, you may find all you need is under-eye concealer, mascara if you like and lip balm daily.

Mature skin care:

Moisturize! This will plump up your skin, which will make whatever use on your skin each day go on smoother . In this article, she recommends Neocutis Hyalis, purchased on Amazon. 

Retinol cream

I found this bit of information on livestrong.com

"According to the Mayo Clinic, the first anti-aging products on the marketplace contained retinol, a Vitamin A compound. Vitamin A has been scientifically-proven to help neutralize the free radicals found in the skin cells. These free radicals are responsible for causing our skin cells to break down. This breakdown is what causes wrinkles, age spots, rough skin and other signs of aging skin that a 60-year-old woman will have. In order to get the best results, women should make certain that retinol is the main ingredient in their skin care product states the Mayo Clinic.

Those who want a retinol-based skin care product that is more potent than an over-the-counter one, should visit their dermatologist. They can obtain a prescription-based version of retinol known as tretinoin states the Mayo Clinic. The treatment is applied topically. Tretinoin is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."

Your skin naturally produces collagen, but the amount decreases as you age. To replenish collagen, using various skin-care products that have collagen, can help minimize the appearance of fine lines, day and night creams, moisturizers, lipsticks, foundations powders and cleansers.

Exfoliate daily. There are many facial scrubs out there, a lot of people have recommended coconut oil to me. Unfortunately, I had a bad reaction to it, so I cannot use it. My daughters use it and love it.

Of course, a big No, No is going to bed with makeup on.

Every day, first thing in the morning, I apply sunscreen. When I researched articles, that is highly recommended. For me, I have done it for most of my adult life. I have a brother who has melanoma, which is a lesson for me to keep that sunscreen applied each morning. I don't just do it in the summer, on sunny days, I do it every day, all year long. I apply it to my face, neck, ears, even whatever part of my chest is exposed in every day clothes. Of course, my arms and hands. It also helps with sunspots and wrinkles.

Plump up tinning lips with lip gloss. Add a little color first by filling in lips with a lip liner or lipstick a shade or 2 darker than your natural lip color, then add a dab of lip gloss.

Here is advice from livestrong.com

Foundation for You

The perfect foundation will work with your skin type and will be the correct shade. That's it. You'll want creamy formulations for drier skin and lighter, oil-free foundations for oily skin. As for choosing the right shade, you'll want to test the color with the help of a friend or professional. Strong advice: try before you buy or buy from a place with a great return policy.

Use a Primer First

Just as you prime a wall with primer before you paint it, the secret to flawless makeup lies in makeup primer. Applying a layer of primer between your skin and makeup will help your foundation glide on more smoothly.

Use Different Foundations for Summer and in Winter

Our skin changes not only yearly, but seasonally. In winter months, you may need a creamy formula. In summer months you may find your skin becomes oily and a tinted moisturizer will do.

 Read more of the article

So, I have only just begun...please take a look at the links I provide, there's a lot of information that you may find helpful.

Meanwhile, I will continue down this path and keep sharing here!

credit info also to Liveabout.com