Self-concept is critical in the social and emotional development of children, although little research has examined its relationship to ethnicity. The self-concept of 214 fourth- and fifth-grade students (White, Black/Haitian American, and Hispanic) revealed differences among groups on the Behavior and Total Self-Concept subscales of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Findings revealed that Black students had the lowest scores on the Behavior domain and Blacks scored significantly lower than Hispanics on Total Self-Concept. Counseling implications are discussed.
BanduraA. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
3.
BearG., & MinkeK. (1996). Positive bias in maintenance of self-worth among children with LD.Learning Disability Quarterly, 19, 22–32.
4.
BlashR.R., & UngerD.G. (1995). Self-concept of African American male youth: Self-esteem and ethnic identity.Journal of Child and Family Studies, 4, 359–373.
5.
BremsC. (2008) A comprehensive guide to child psychotherapy and counseling (3rd ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
6.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
7.
CrainR.M. (1996). The influence of age, race, and gender on child and adolescent self-concept. In BrackenB.A. (Ed.), Handbook of self-concept:Developmental, social, and clinical considerations (pp. 395–420). New York: John Wiley and Sons.
8.
CrainR.M., & BrackenB.A. (1994). Age, race, and gender differences in child and adolescent self-concept: Evidence from a behavioral-acquisition, context-dependent model.School Psychology Review, 23, 496–511.
9.
De ValenzuelaJ., CopelandS., Huaqing QiC., & ParkM. (2006). Examining educational equity: Revisiting the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education.Exceptional Children, 72, 425–441.
10.
EdmondsonJ.H., & WhiteJ. (1998). A tutorial and counseling program: Helping students at risk of dropping out of school.Professional School Counseling, 1, 43–47.
11.
EllisA. (2001). Research on educational innovations (3rd ed.). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
12.
ErkutS., MarxF., FieldsJ.P., & SingR. (1999). Raising confident and competent girls: One size does not fit all. In PeplauL.A., DeBroS.C., VeniegasR.C., & TaylorP.L. (Eds.), Gender, culture, and ethnicity: Current research about women and men (pp. 83–101). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co.
Gray-LittleB.,& HafdahlA. (2000). Factors influencing racial comparisons of self-esteem: A quantitative review.Psychological Bulletin, 126, 26–54.
15.
GuayF., MarshH.W., & BoivinM. (2003). Academic self-concept and academic achievement: Developmental perspectives on their causal ordering.Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 124–136.
16.
HamachekD. (1995). Self-concept and school achievement: Interaction dynamics and a tool for assessing the self-concept component.Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, 419–425.
17.
HarryB., & KlingerJ. (2006). Why are so many minority students in special education? Understanding race and disability in schools.New York: Columbia University, Teachers College.
18.
HarterS., & MaroldD.B. (1994). Psychological risk factors contributing to adolescent suicide ideation. In NoamG. & BorstS. (Eds.), Child and adolescent suicide (pp. 71–91). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
19.
HarterS., & MonsourA. (1992). Developmental analysis of conflict caused by opposing self- attributes in the adolescent self-portrait.Developmental Psychology, 28, 251–260.
20.
HarterS., WhitesellN.R., & JunkinL.J. (1998). Similarities and differences in domain-specific and global self-evaluations of learning-disabled, behaviorally disordered, and normally achieving adolescents.American Education Research Journal, 35, 653–680.
21.
HuittW. (2004, October 29). Becoming a brilliant star:An introduction.Presentation at the Forum for Integrated Education and Educational Reform sponsored by the Council for Global Integrative Education, Santa Cruz, CA. Retrieved November 1, 2006, from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/brilstar/chapters/BrilStarintro.pdf
22.
HymelS., LeMareL., DitnerE., & WoodyE.Z. (1999). Assessing self-concept in children:Variations across self-concept domains.Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 602–623.
23.
JacobsJ.E., BleekerM.M., & ConstantinoM.J. (2003).The self-system during childhood and adolescence: Development, influences, and implications.Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 13, 33–65.
24.
JohnsonD.W., JohnsonR.T., & TaylorB. (1993). Impact of cooperative and individualistic learning on high-ability students’ achievement, self-esteem, and social acceptance.Journal of Social Psychology, 133, 839–844.
25.
KaminskiP.L., ShaferM.E., NeumannC.S., & RamosV. (2005). Self-concept in Mexican American girls and boys: Validating the self-description questionnaire-1.Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 11, 321–338.
26.
KeithL.K., & BrackenB.A. (1996). Self-concept instrumentation: A historical and evaluative review. In BrackenB. A. (Ed.), Handbook of self-concept: Developmental, social, and clinical considerations (pp. 91–170). New York: Wiley.
27.
KnoxM., FunkJ., ElliotR., & BushG.E. (1998). Adolescents’ possible selves and their relationship to global self-esteem.Sex Roles, 39, 61–80.
28.
MarshH.W. (1990). A multidimensional, hierarchical model of self-concept:Theoretical and empirical justification.Educational Psychology Review, 2, 77–122.
29.
MarshH.W. (1992). Content specificity of relations between academic achievement and academic self-concept.Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 35–42.
30.
MarshH.W. (1993). Academic self-concept:Theory measurement and research. In SulsJ. (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on the self (Vol.4, pp. 59–98). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
31.
MarshH.W., & KollerO. (2004). Unification of theoretical models of academic self-concept/achievement relations: Reunification of East and West German school systems after the fall of the Berlin Wall.Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 264–282.
32.
MeggertS.S. (2004).“Who cares what I think”: Problems of low self-esteem. In CapuzziD. & GrossD.R. (Eds.), Youth at risk: A prevention resource for counselors, teachers, and parents (4th ed., pp. 93–115). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
33.
PhinneyJ.S. (1996). When we talk about American ethnic groups, what do we mean?American Psychologist, 51, 918–927.
34.
PiersE. (1963). Factor analysis for the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Unpublished raw data.
35.
PiersE.V. (1994). Revised manual for the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale.Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
36.
PiersE., & HerzbergD. (2002). Piers-Harris 2: Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, 2nd Edition.Manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
37.
SpencerM. B. (1991). Adolescent African American male self-esteem: Suggestions for mentoring program content. (Mentoring program structures for young minority males conference paper series).Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
38.
StepickA., & StepickC.D. (2001). Civic engagement of Haitian immigrants and Haitian Americans in Miami-Dade County.Miami, FL: Florida International University, Center for Labor Research and Studies, Immigration and Ethnicity Institute. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from http://www.fiu.edu/∼iei/index/report1.html
39.
SwainR.C., & WaymanJ.C. (2004). Multidimensional self-esteem and alcohol use among Mexican American and White non-Latino adolescents: Concurrent and prospective effects.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 74, 559–570.
40.
TaylorL.D., Davis-KeanP.,& MalanchukO. (2007). Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and aggression at school.Aggressive Behavior, 33, 130–136.
41.
TrautweinU., LudtkeO., KöllerO., & BaumertJ. (2006). Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and achievement: How the learning environment moderates the dynamics of self-concept.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 334–349.
42.
TwengeJ., & CrockerJ. (2002). Race and self-esteem: Meta-analyses comparing Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians and comment on Gray-Little and Hafdahl (2000).Psychological Bulletin, 128, 371–408.
