Effects of Racial Environment on Self-Concept and Self-Esteem of Middle Class Blacks
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Authors
Rajan, Wanda
Issue Date
1983
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
A traditional view of black Americans is that they have poor self-concept and low self-esteem compared to white Americans. This view was assumed to be an understandable, logical result of oppression, poverty, and racism. Recent studies, however, have contradicted this traditional view. Most of the traditional studies in the literature have concentrated on comparative levels of self-esteem and self-concept between whites and blacks. Over the past several decades, the increased effort to integrate society has enabled a larger number of blacks to achieve levels of education, income, and occupations comparable to whites. A search of the literature did not reveal studies concerning the self-concept and level of self-esteem among blacks living in different racial environments. This research was, therefore, undertaken to study differences in self-concept and self-esteem between middle-class blacks living in different racial environments. Self-concept and self-esteem levels were measured by administering the Tennessee self-concept scales to selected participants. Results of this study showed that there was no statistical difference in the self-concept and level of self-esteem between middle-class blacks living in predominantly black environments versus those blacks living in predominantly white environments. The lack of difference in the data leads to the conclusion that there is no significant correlation between the racial makeup of the living environment and self-concept and self-esteem. This conclusion is limited to the participants in this study and the assumption that the Tennessee self-concept scale is sensitive to these parameters.