[Public health nurses as supporters of young people's self-esteem].
Public Health Nurses are in a key position to support the self-esteem of young people and their families. Supporting people's self-esteem is significant for the welfare of the population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the connection between childhood experiences and young people's self-esteem and the type of assistance young people had received from public health nurses compared with their expectations in this respect. The population consisted of Finnish-speaking students in the second form of upper secondary schools, students in their second year at vocational schools and first-term nursing students, all from Helsinki. A random sample of 461 pupils was taken. Public health nurses working with the young people in the sample totalled seven. Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire in March 1986. The response rate was 100%. The research findings showed that there is a connection between a person's childhood experiences and self-esteem. The more support young people had received from their parents, the brighter their perception of their childhood and the better their chances of developing high self-esteem. The more a public health nurse had supported young people's self-esteem, the better they viewed the visits to as having met their expectations and the more ready they were to accept the public health nurse's help, which they also regarded as important. A public health nurse's support helped to strengthen young people's self-esteem. The findings will be used to increase public health nurses' opportunities to support the self-esteem of children, young people and their parents. Public health nurses' capacities to do this should be increased through education and supervision.
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011637:Public Health Nursing; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*
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