The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of stress and self-esteem on problem behaviors and its relationship with nail-biting, one form of habit disorders.
About 460 high school students residing in Gwangju and Damyang, 447 who met the purpose of this study were selected as the subjects. The stress and self-esteem scales were used to investigate stress and self-esteem.
As a result of the analysis of stress and self-esteem according to individual characteristics, while there was no significant difference in siblings, there was a statistically significant difference in sex for family, friend, academics, teacher, and physical-related stress.
For the stress and self-esteem according to life-style, behavior, and condition, the lack of sleep was found to increase stress. Furthermore, family, friend, teacher, and physical-related stress showed the highest mean in 'nail-biting'.
While 'No touch' in the 'low' stress and 'Biting' in the 'high' stress were found highest in family, teacher, and physical-related stress, 'Biting' in the 'low' self-esteem and 'No touch' in the 'high' self-esteem were found highest in self-esteem.
The results suggest that stress caused problem behaviors and habit disorders and coping methods varied with the high and low self-esteem.
Therefore, it is suggested that educational programs should be provided to enhance self-esteem and cope with stress actively.