Effects of Anger Expression on Self-Esteem in Dental Hygiene Students / 치위생과학회지

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between anger expression and self-esteem of female college students of dental hygiene. Participants were 598 female students who majored in dental hygiene from randomly selected colleges, located in Daejeon and Chungcheongbuk-do. Data were gathered from May 20 to June 5, 2014, using structured questionnaires. The major findings of the study were as follows: the correlation between anger expression and self-esteem was analyzed, and self-esteem was found to have a weak significant negative correlation with anger expression. On analyzing data to explore which variables affected self-esteem, it was found that self-esteem was influenced by grade, school record, harassment, language–psychological violence, and bullying. The above-mentioned findings suggest that anger expression is related to self-esteem. After graduation from college, dental hygiene students, encounter a variety of interpersonal relationships in their work. Therefore self-esteem programs need to be developed and implemented at an individual, departmental, and collegiate level to help students learn to respect themselves and others, and to provide appropriate care.