Differential self-concept in American Indian children as a function of language and examiner
Abstract:
The hypothesis that minority self-concept may vary as a function of implicit ethnic and nonethnic evaluative criteria was investigated by testing 40 Mikasuki Seminole Indian children in their native language (Mikasuki) with Indian examiners and in English with Anglo examiners. Two reservation groups, matched for age and sex, received four administration of a personal (Piers-Harris) and an Indian self-concept scale, in a repeated measures counterbalanced design, varying language and order. Significant tes-retest correlations indicated response stability across languages and time. Results, homogeneous for all subgroups, showed significantly higher personal self-concept in Mikasuki, significantly higher Indian self-concept in English. It was suggested that minority testing may involve culturally patterned and context-bound response tendencies.
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