A Developmental Study of Ethnic Self-Concept among Preadolescent Girls

Abstract

The present study explored the developmental changes in the self-concepts of 634 nine-, 432 ten-, and 452 eleven-year-old girls from Euro-, Afro-, and Mexican-American backgrounds, respectively. The lower SES group had a significantly lower mean self-concept than the middle SES group. The Euros had a higher self-concept than the Afros, and both of these groups had significantly higher self-concepts than the Mexican-Americans. Also, 11-year-olds had a significantly higher mean than both the nine- and 10-year-olds. Furthermore, ANOVA showed that the two-way interaction between race and SES was not the same for the three age groups. The pattern of interaction was similar for the nine- and the 11-year-olds but different for the 10-year-olds. Self-concept scores increasing with age may be a function of development, cognitive maturity, and the mastery of social skills as well as ethnic membership, sociocultural environment, and the accessibility of opportunities.