NCJ Number
204599
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 33 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2004 Pages: 123-132
Date Published
April 2004
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined self-esteem and ethnic identity among biracial and monoracial adolescents.
Abstract
Despite the growing number of biracial and multiracial adolescents in the United States, the scholarly literature has all but ignored the psychological well-being and ethnic identity of biracial adolescents. It is critical to learn more about the developmental outcomes of adolescents within biracial families, especially their psychological adjustment. As such, the current study examined the self-esteem and ethnic identity of 3,282 students from 3 different high schools in a large southwestern city. Self-esteem and ethnic identity were measured using Rosenberg’s Self-esteem Scale and Phinney’s Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure. Results of analysis of variance indicated that significant differences were present between biracial and monoracial students on a measure of self-esteem and on a measure of ethnic identity. Biracial adolescents demonstrated significantly more self-esteem than their Asian counterparts, but less self-esteem than Black adolescents. Biracial adolescents also scored higher on measures of ethnic identity than White adolescents, but lower than their Black, Asian, and Latino monoracial peers. Finally, the results revealed a significant positive association between ethnic identity and self-esteem for all ethnic groups. These findings have important implications for intervention programs, youth programs, and multicultural education because of the demonstrated importance of healthy self-esteem and a positive ethnic identity on the psychological adjustment of adolescents. One limitation of this study emerges from its cross-sectional design, which renders it impossible to determine the causal directions of the relationship between self-esteem and ethnic identity. Tables, references