The present research was a 2-year longitudinal study of the self-concept development of primary schoolchildren in Hong Kong. Samples of primary grades 1, 3 and 5 students were followed through to primary grades 2, 4 and 6, respectively. Data on students' self-concept in four domains (academic, appearance, social, general) were collected at half-year intervals. The depression level of students and evaluations by teachers and parents on students' self-concept were obtained as well. Younger children were found to be higher in self-concept than older children, and a clear linear and downward trend was observed: the drop in self-concept was most drastic from primary 1 to 3 and leveled off thereafter. Girls were found to be higher than boys in all domains of self-concept, but their drop in self-concept was much greater. Self-concept was highly predictive of depression; primary 3 children were found to be higher in depression than primary 5 children. Evaluations by teachers and parents related closely to the children's self-evaluations on self-concept. In all, the present research was able to show a clear picture of the self-concept development of Chinese primary schoolchildren in Hong Kong. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Baron, R.A.
and D. Byrne (1994) Social Psychology: Understanding Human Interaction, 7th edn. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
2.
Berman, A.L.
and D.A. Jobes (1991) Adolescent Suicide: Assessment and Intervention. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
3.
Berndt, T.J.
, P.C. Cheung, S. Lau, K. T. Hau and W.J.F. Lew (1993) `Perceptions of Parenting in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Sex Differences and Societal Differences', Developmental Psychology29(1): 156-164.
4.
Bronfenbrenner, U.
(1979) The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
5.
Cheung, P.C.
and S. Lau (1985) `Self-esteem: Its Relationship to the Family and School Social Environments among Chinese Adolescents', Youth and Society16: 438-456.
6.
Cheung, P.C. and S. Lau (forthcoming) A Multi-perspective Multi-domain Model of Self-concept: Relating Two Lines of Self-concept Research.
7.
Cooley, D.H.
(1902) Human Nature and the Social Order. New York: Scribners.
8.
Coppersmith, S.
(1967) The Antecedents of Self-esteem. San Francisco, CA: Freeman.
9.
Draper, H.E.
, W. Draper and L.B. Polk (1989) Studying Children: Observing and Participating. Mission Hills, CA: Glencoe.
10.
Eagly, A.H.
(1987) Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Social-role Interpretation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
Eagly, A.H.
and W. Wood (1991) `Explaining Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Metaanalytic Perspective', Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin17: 306-315.
12.
Festinger, L.
(1954) `A Theory of Social Comparison Processes', Human Relations7: 117-140.
13.
Gecas, V.
and M.L. Schwalbe (1986) `Parental Behavior and Adolescent Self-esteem', Journal of Marriage and the Family48: 37-46.
14.
Kovacs, M.
(1985) `Children's Depression Inventory', Psychopharmacology Bulletin21: 995-998.
15.
Lau, S.
(1989) `Sex Role Orientation and Domains of Self-esteem', Sex Roles21: 415-4 22.
16.
Lau, S.
and P.C. Cheung (1987) `Relations between Chinese Adolescents' Perception of Parental Control and Organization and their Perception of Parental Warmth', Developmental Psychology23: 726-729.
17.
Lau, S.
and P.C. Cheung (1991) `Self-concept: Age and Sex Effects for Primary School Students in Hong Kong', paper presented at the Second European Congress of Psychology, Budapest, Hungary.
18.
Lau, S.
and K. Leung (1992a) `Relations with Parents and School and Chinese Adolescents' Self-concept, Delinquency, and Academic Performance', British Journal of Educational Psychology62: 193-202.
19.
Lau, S.
and K. Leung (1992b) `Self-concept, Delinquency, Relations with Parents and School, and Chinese Adolescents' Perception of Personal Control', Personality and Individual Differences13: 615-622.
20.
Lau, S.
and W.L. Li (1996) `Peer Status and Creativity of Chinese Children: How Popular are Creative Children as Viewed by Peers and Teachers', Creativity Research Journal9(4): 347-352.
21.
Lau, S.
, W.J.F. Lew, K.T. Hau, P.C. Cheung and T.J. Berndt (1990) `Relations among Perceived Parental Control, Warmth Indulgence, and Family Harmony of Chinese in Mainland China', Developmental Psychology26: 674-677.
22.
Lau, S., G. Chen, X. Chen, W.L. Li and K.K. Siu (1994) `The Self-perception of Ability of Chinese Children in China and Hong Kong: Gender and Age Differences', unpublished manuscript.
23.
Lau, S., D. Chan, P. Lau and A. Hui (1997) `Suicide: Its Relationships with Depression, Self-concept, and Stress among School Children and Teenagers in Hong Kong', unpublished manuscript.
24.
Leung, K.
and S. Lau (1989) `Effects of Self-concept and Perceived Disapproval on Delinquent Behavior in School Children', Journal of Youth and Adolescence18: 345-359.
25.
Marsh, H.W.
(1994) `Using the National Longitudinal Study of 1988 to Evaluate Theoretical Models of Self-Concept: The Self-description Questionnaire', Journal of Educational Psychology86(3): 439-456.
26.
Mead, G.H.
(1934) Mind, Self, and Society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
27.
Parke, R.D.
, P.A. Ornstein, J.J. Rieser and C. Zahn-Waxler (eds) (1994) A Century of Developmental Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
28.
Perry, D.G.
(1984) Social Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
29.
Pun, K.L., S. Lau and W.L. Li (1995) `Parental Evaluations and their Agreement: Relationship with Children's Self-concept', unpublished manuscript.
Rollins, B.C.
and D.L. Thomas (1979) `Parental Support, Power, and Control Techniques in the Socialization of Children', in W.R. Burr, R. Hill, F.I. Nye and I.L. Reiss (eds) Contemporary Theories about the Family, Vol. 1, pp. 317-364. New York: Free Press.
32.
Rosenberg, M.
(1979) Conceiving the Self. New York: Basic Books.
33.
Shavelson, R.J.
, J.J. Hubner and G.C. Stanton (1976) `Validation of Construct Interpretations', Review of Educational Research46: 407-441.
34.
Siccone, F.
and J. Canfield (1993) 101 Ways to Develop Student Self-esteem and Responsibility, Volume II: The Power to Succeed in School and Beyond. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
35.
Stevenson, H.W.
and S.Y. Lee (1990) `Contexts of Achievement', Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development55(1-2, serial No. 221).
36.
Triandis, H.C.
(1989) `The Self and Social Behavior in Differing Cultural Contexts', Psychological Review96(3): 506-520.
37.
Vygotsky, L.S.
(1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
38.
Zigler, E.
and I.L. Child (1969) `Socialization', in G. Lindzey and E. Aronson (eds) The Handbook of Social Psychology. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
