RACE/Ethnicity
DISCLAIMER- Race and Ethnicity are not the same thing, but the literature available tended to lump these together, which is why it is presented in this manner.
Studies on self-esteem and race and ethnicity have focused on the differences in self-esteem levels among people of different racial and ethnic groups.
One belief about the relationship between race and self-esteem is that minorities will have lower levels of self-esteem because they experience racism and prejudice. However, there has been evidence that African Americans actually have higher self-esteem than whites. A possible suggestion to explain these levels of self-esteem is that African Americans can use stigma as self-protection. The stigma as self-protection hypothesis claims that members of an in-group can preserve their self-esteem by using in-group comparison or assigning the results of their performance to racism. However, the stigma as self-protection theory does not seem to hold true with other racial groups, such as Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, and American Indians (Twenge and Crocker, 2002, 385).
Another possible explanation for understanding minorities self-esteem is that different cultural understanding of self-esteem mean that minorities construct their self-esteem in a different way than the ones measured (Twenge and Crocker, 2002, 386). This explanation is supported by the fact that most of the research done on self-esteem has been conducted using Anglo, middle-class North Americans. The definition of self-esteem has been culturally constructed and influenced by the individualistic mind-set (Michaels et al., 2007, 270).
A study exploring the cultural construction of self-esteem, examined how scholastic competence, athletic competence, behavioral conduction, social acceptance, and physical appearance influenced the self-esteem of adolescent Anglo Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans, it was concluded that there were similarities across the groups as these categories seemed to be measuring the same construct in at least two or more of the groups, and when the categories were measuring the same construct in a group, self-esteem and developmental outcomes were similar across groups. Constructs that did not seem relevant for certain groups include athletic competence for Mexican Americans and psychical appearance for African Americans. The study suggests that one explanation for why certain categories did not hold salience across groups could be the difference between collectivist verses individualistic cultures (Michaels et al., 2007, 286-288). However, replies to this study have iterated that there are other cultural differences besides individualism and collectivism which could account for variances in self-esteem across cultures (Hafdal, 2002, 415).
Studies on self-esteem and race and ethnicity have focused on the differences in self-esteem levels among people of different racial and ethnic groups.
One belief about the relationship between race and self-esteem is that minorities will have lower levels of self-esteem because they experience racism and prejudice. However, there has been evidence that African Americans actually have higher self-esteem than whites. A possible suggestion to explain these levels of self-esteem is that African Americans can use stigma as self-protection. The stigma as self-protection hypothesis claims that members of an in-group can preserve their self-esteem by using in-group comparison or assigning the results of their performance to racism. However, the stigma as self-protection theory does not seem to hold true with other racial groups, such as Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, and American Indians (Twenge and Crocker, 2002, 385).
Another possible explanation for understanding minorities self-esteem is that different cultural understanding of self-esteem mean that minorities construct their self-esteem in a different way than the ones measured (Twenge and Crocker, 2002, 386). This explanation is supported by the fact that most of the research done on self-esteem has been conducted using Anglo, middle-class North Americans. The definition of self-esteem has been culturally constructed and influenced by the individualistic mind-set (Michaels et al., 2007, 270).
A study exploring the cultural construction of self-esteem, examined how scholastic competence, athletic competence, behavioral conduction, social acceptance, and physical appearance influenced the self-esteem of adolescent Anglo Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans, it was concluded that there were similarities across the groups as these categories seemed to be measuring the same construct in at least two or more of the groups, and when the categories were measuring the same construct in a group, self-esteem and developmental outcomes were similar across groups. Constructs that did not seem relevant for certain groups include athletic competence for Mexican Americans and psychical appearance for African Americans. The study suggests that one explanation for why certain categories did not hold salience across groups could be the difference between collectivist verses individualistic cultures (Michaels et al., 2007, 286-288). However, replies to this study have iterated that there are other cultural differences besides individualism and collectivism which could account for variances in self-esteem across cultures (Hafdal, 2002, 415).
SOcioECONOMIC STATUS
Socioeconomic status has been shown to have an effect on self-esteem. For childhood and adolescents this effect is very small. Researchers suggest that the effect is smaller at this time because socioeconomic status for adolescents is based on parents’ status instead of their own status. During young adulthood though, this link significantly increases and then continues to increase until retirement age (Twenge and Campbell, 2002, 67). Besides age, other factors interact with socioeconomic status’s influence on self-esteem. For instance, occupation has a stronger correlation with self-esteem than income does. Cultural differences also influence socioeconomic status’s impact on self-esteem, as this factor seemed to be more salient for Asian American samples (Twenge and Campbell, 2002, 68).
In a case study of non-Hispanic white adolescents living in the mid-West, it was found that socioeconomic status was related to self-esteem during high school. Students with a higher socioeconomic status tended to have a higher increase of mastery and self-esteem each year. The findings of this study suggest that high school is a significant time for understanding socioeconomic status and its impact on self-esteem (Falci, 2011, 599).
In a case study of non-Hispanic white adolescents living in the mid-West, it was found that socioeconomic status was related to self-esteem during high school. Students with a higher socioeconomic status tended to have a higher increase of mastery and self-esteem each year. The findings of this study suggest that high school is a significant time for understanding socioeconomic status and its impact on self-esteem (Falci, 2011, 599).
GENDER
When examining gender’s influence on self-esteem levels, it appears that age must also be taken into consideration. During late childhood and late adolescence, there does not seem to be a gender difference in self-esteem. However, during early adolescence, girls experience lower levels of self-esteem. While both genders experience puberty at this age, it is theorized that because girls are subjected to more objectification at this time, it leads to a decrease in their self-esteem at the beginning of adolescence. Boys instead experience a decrease in self-reported self-esteem during adolescence, though research is still trying to determine why younger adolescence boys have or report higher self-esteem (Polce-Lynch et. al, 2001, 237-239). Each gender though was subjected to media influences about their body-image, which was negatively correlated to self-esteem (Polce-Lynch et. al, 2001,239). The case study of non-Hispanic white adolescents living in the mid-West also supported the findings that there is a difference in self-esteem between adolescence boys and girls at the beginning of high school, but that gap closes throughout high school (Falci, 2011, 599).
ABILIITY
Perhaps one of the ways that self-esteem is most salient for teachers in the classroom is the relationship between self-esteem and learning abilities. According to the sociometer theory, labeling of students can be harmful because it is a public display that a student does not have a desirable trait. However, it is argued that these students may need to be labeled in order to make sure that they are receiving the correct educational services (Thomson, 2012, 161). However, the label of a learning disability does not have the same effect on all students. A study by found that factors which influence self-esteem due to a learning disability include who told a student about their learning ability and understanding of a learning disability. Students who had the ability to articulate what it meant to have a learning ability tended to have lower self-esteem. Additionally, students who had been told about their learning disability by their teacher tended to have lower self-esteem than students who had been told by their parents (Cosden et al., 1999, 284-285).