Freedom to Love Yourself (FLY): The Impact of Daily Self-Affirmations on Self-Esteem and Self-Love in Black Women and Girls

Easley, MI (Monique)¹, Scott, DM (Darla)^2
1Bowie State University, 11406 Sequoia Lane, 20705, Beltsville
²Bowie State University, 14000 Jericho Park Road, 20715, Bowie

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Hallway, 22-07-2016, 16:00 - 17:00

Keywords

self-esteem, self-love, self-affirmation, empowerment, diversity, self-care

Summary

Rosenburg (1965) describes self-esteem as the self-evaluation of a persons’ competencies. Womanist and Black feminist thinkers reference self-love as the unconditional appreciation, acceptance, and care for oneself despite imperfections. Self-esteem is typically cultivated prior to self-love which leads to self-esteem being more prevalent that self-love (Schwartz, 2013). This study serves to explore the impact of daily "I am" self-affirmations on self-esteem and self-love in Black women and girls. Prior research reveals that self-affirmation “boosts self-worth and non-defensiveness” (Howell, 2017), combats stereotype threat in women (Martens et al., 2005) and African Americans (Steele & Aronson, 1995), and “enhances resiliency” (Pauketat, 2016). Participants will include Black women and girls ages 15-30. Self-esteem and self-love will be measured before and after the self-affirmation treatment. Participants are randomly assigned to repeat the affirmation (control), repeat while looking into a mirror, or journal about the affirmation. It is predicted that daily self-affirmations will increase self-esteem and self-love for all participants and participants assigned the journal condition will report the greatest increase. These findings have the potential to empower Black women and girls and combat negative self-perceptions. School psychologists can use this research to inform self-esteem and self-love interventions.

Auteurs