Factors Related to Self-Esteem Among African America Youths: A Secondary Analysis of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Data

Data from the Perry Preschool study on 121 African American adolescents were used to explore the correlates of self-esteem. Consistent with Harter's (1990) theoretical integration of the perspectives of William James and Charles Cooley, we expected African American adolescents to be high in self-esteem if they experienced success in areas that were important to them and if they perceived that significant others held them in high regard. Specifically, higher self-esteem scores were expected for youths who had graduated from high school, had positive experiences in school, were moving toward economic self-sufficiency, had positive relationships with their families, and perceived that their families approved of them and what they were doing. The data were consistent with the hypothesis that the effects of the teens' accomplishments and others' appraisals of them are additive.