The Relation of Self-Esteem to Ethnic Identity Development in Children
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Authors
Curtis, Christine
Issue Date
2001
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
This study examined the relation of self-esteem and ethnic identification to the emotional and behavioral issues of minority children enrolled in a non-public, therapeutic day school program. The emotional disturbances of the participants made the assessment of ethnic identity and self-esteem more complex. This study attempted to recognize the different needs and perspectives of minority children within the context of a therapeutic group. Since there was no existing measure for use in assessing children's ethnic identity, a measure was created. It was essential to address the construct of ethnic identity and its various components in our sample, given our research question. The measure designed to assess children's ethnic identity was the Children's Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (CMEIM). This measure was developed based on the items and corresponding subscales in Phinney's (1992) Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). The items and concepts were adapted to accommodate this sample's reading and comprehension level. The relationship between self-esteem and ethnic identity was measured and examined using the CMEIM and the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory (1992). These measures were administered to 20 minority children between 7 and 11. Ten children were in Group 1, the experimental group, and ten children were in Group 2, the control group. Results of the correlation indicated no significant relationship between one's self-esteem and ethnic identity. However, findings did indicate a medium effect size for the relationship between the CMEIM's Affirmation and Belonging subscale and the CFSEI Adaptability subscale. Results of the reliability analyses for the CMEIM indicated that when two items were dropped from the measure, the measure of ethnic identity and ethnic affirmation and belonging achieved adequate reliability. Additionally, this study examined the CMEIM's reliability in measuring feelings of ethnic affirmation and belonging, and ethnic identity achievement in a sample of emotionally troubled minority children. Parents rated their children on a behavioral checklist, the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children - Parent Form (BASC-PR). This measure obtained the caregiver's perception of the child's behavioral difficulties in addition to possible areas of clinical concern. Results of the BASC-PR Anxiety subscale analysis were found to be significant for a decrease in anxiety among the participants. Results from the Parental Rating Behavior Checklist (PRBC) indicated more positive post-test ratings by the parent with regard to the child's behavior. Potential implications of differences in cognitive development and social experiences of the children in this study, as well as contextual factors such as socioeconomic status, are considered in the discussion of the results.