Ethnic Self-Concept During Middle Childhood

Summary The present study investigated the self-concepts of 432 Euro-, Afro-, and Mexican-American 10-year-old girls. The results indicated that both ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds exert varying degrees of influence on self-concept ratings. The middle-income girls scored significantly higher than the lower-income ones. The middle-income Euros had significantly higher self-concept ratings than their Mexican-American counterparts. No significant difference was found between the ratings of the lower-income girls from the three ethnic groups. The results were discussed in terms of cognitive development, reference group theory, ethnic boundary maintenance, and the ethnic identity movements.