African American Adolescents and Skin Color

This study examines skin color in the lives of African American adolescents and explores the relationship to self-esteem and dating relationships. Adolescents between the ages of 11 and 19 years were recruited through schools, churches, and informal networks. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers to explore the meaning of skin color in the lives of African American adolescents and its effect on self-esteem. Primary studyfindings were that (a) a relationship existed between satisfaction with skin color and self-esteem; (b) students self-reported as "lighter" or "darker" had lower levels of satisfaction with their skin color than did students whose skin color was classified as "somewhere in between"; (c) although the difference was nonsignificant, a greater proportion of men than women expresseda desirefor lighterskin; and (d) a gender difference was noted on the dating variable, "Skin color makes a difference to guys when they date girls." Implications of thefindings are discussed.