This study examines the relationship between underemployment, underpayment, attributions, and self-esteem among Black men. The data for the study were available from Black males sampled in the National Survey of Black Americans (Jackson et al., 1980). The sample consisted of 794 males, 500 of whom were currently employed full time and were used to investigate the relationships of this study. Because secondary data were used, this is an objective, not subjective assessment of the relationships between underemployment, underpayment, attributions, and self-esteem. The results showed that underemployment and underpayment did not lower the self-esteem of Black men. In addition, the attributional effects of underemployment and underpayment on self-esteem were not significant, but in the expected directions. Future studies should measure the self-esteem of men and women, both Blacks and Whites, and should relate it to their employment status and their subjective feelings of underemployment.
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