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Adolescent Self-Esteem: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Age
Jerald G Bachman1, Patrick M O'Malley, Peter Freedman-Doan
1Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson St., P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, 734-763-5043, 734-936-0043 (fax), jbachman@umich.edu.
Summary
Self-esteem scores are high among US students, with notable race/ethnic and gender differences persisting across 18 years of data. These disparities remained even after statistical adjustments.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Adolescent self-esteem is a critical factor in psychological well-being.
- Understanding demographic variations in self-esteem is essential for targeted interventions.
- Previous research indicates potential disparities across race/ethnicity and gender.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze self-esteem trends in a large, representative sample of US adolescents.
- To examine how race/ethnicity and gender influence self-esteem scores.
- To investigate the stability of these trends over an 18-year period.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from large-scale, representative surveys of 8th, 10th, and 12th-grade students across the United States.
- Employed multivariate controls for academic performance and college aspirations.
- Applied a truncated scoring method to mitigate response style biases.
Main Results:
- Consistently high self-esteem scores were reported across all student groups surveyed.
- African-American students reported the highest self-esteem, followed by Whites, Hispanics, and then Asian Americans.
- Males generally reported higher self-esteem than females, with these differences sometimes amplified by statistical controls.
Conclusions:
- Significant and persistent race/ethnic and gender differences in adolescent self-esteem exist in the US.
- Standard scoring methods may not fully capture these demographic variations.
- Self-esteem levels remained relatively stable among adolescents from 1991 to 2008.
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