Can a positive self-concept help keep you safe? I think it can. An acquaintance of mine teaches a basic self-defense class to women who are staying in a local shelter. We talked recently, and she told me that one of the things she stresses in the class is the idea of self-concept. 

My friend believes that how well a woman defends herself depends directly on how a woman feels about herself. Specific to assault, poor self-concept means that we are likely to put others' rights before our own, that we will allow others to intrude into our territory, that we feel helpless when threatened. 

She educates the women in her classes about "learned helplessness," a state of mind in which we simply stop trying to change anything because we feel incapable of having any effect. And she talks about learned helplessness as an expected result from a society where women have traditionally been discouraged from mastering their environment. 

If a women feels little control over the direction of her life, choice of employment, the number of children she will have or where she will live and travel, then she isn't going to be composed, quick to act, and successful in taking control of an assault situation. 

So, you see a positive self-concept and high self-esteem are not just nice to have. They are really essential life skills - for women, kids, men, seniors - literally, they are for everyone.