Senior Seminar Literature Review

7/31/2019 Senior Seminar Literature Review

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Self-Concept in Ethnic Minority Youth: Research and Implications

John Kearney

Elon University

The plight of ethnic minority children and adolescents has been well documented and

reported on for a long time. These youth consistently struggle to find success academically and

socially. Many reasons for this have been proposed, ranging from underfunded schools, gang

violence, lack of proper role models and parental care, among others. Since the late 1960s

activists and advocacy groups have pushed American psychologists to include ethnic minorities

as an individual focus of research (Pickren, 2004). The goal of this paper is to examine how the

self-concept is involved in the development of minority youth, both positively and negatively.

Ultimately, we will discuss and explore how proposed interventions and potential future

programs can be utilized to use the self-concept to better the lives of these individuals. A variety

of aspects pertaining to the self-concept and how current psychological research has explored

these ideas will be examined. In the first section we will discuss basic issues concerning the self-

concept. We will examine why these are of particular importance to ethnic minority youth, and

why these individuals deserve our attention. Next, we will look at various types of self-concept

and how these have been studied within this group. These will include ethnic and academic

facets of self-concept. These differ in how the individual views themselves in the terms of these

three focuses. We will then turn our attention to various contexts in which self-concept is of

importance to the lives of these individuals. These will include threats of stereotype and

prejudice, salience of race differences, and family influences. Last, we will examine various

proposed treatment programs, and explore new programs that we will construct based on our

previous discussions.


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First we must define what we mean by self. Psychologists view the self as two

constructs, theIand theMe. We will defineIas the entity which is constantly perceiving and

experiencing the world around us. This construct serves the purpose to differentiate ourselves

from other things and people in our world, as well as maintain a sense of continuity in our lives; I

saw this person, and thenIsaid this to them. If theIis the objective perception of our world, then

theMeis ones subjective psychological experience. This construct is made up of self-referent

thoughts, such as considering oneself as intelligent or funny. TheMe is generally thought to

be composed of the two terms called self-concept and self-esteem. TheMe will be the focus of

our study, with our focus on self-concept, although we will often encounter self-esteem in our

discussion. Particularly we will pay attention to the development of theMe through middle-

childhood and adolescence. These ages present the times when self-concept is the most

malleable, as we gain cognitive abilities and truly begin to define ourselves apart from others.

Why is studying this aspect of the self so important? As we will see, our self-concept

plays a key role in how we think and feel about ourselves, as well as what attitudes we create

about the world and how we behave in that world. In this way, the self-concept could be argued

as one of the most important psychological factors to be studied. The group on which this

literature review focuses, ethnic minority youth, was chose deliberately. Why focus on children

and adolescents? Many aspects of the self are being directly formed during these years,

especially during adolescence. Various aspects of life during these ages are formative and carry

into adulthood, so it is important to study what is happening during this time period and how it

effects formation of the self-concept. This is especially true when considering the possible

negative behaviors that can be occurring during adolescence in particular, and what effect this

may have on self-concept formation. It has been found that co-occurrence of harmful behaviors


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is prominent in teenagers. One study found that on average teenagers participate in at least four

different negative behaviors, including smoking, alcohol abuse, minor and major delinquencies,

sexual activity, aggression, and gambling (Willoughby, et al., 2004). Ethnic minority youth are

presented with various environmental stressors that are unique to their demographic, and so it is

arguably even more important to study these individuals. Some have suggested that race is not a

relevant variable for personality research (Edwards, 1974), but our review of the literature will

show that there are in fact differences between ethnic majority and minority youth in this area of

psychology, and that minority youth face a unique set of circumstances in their development that

influence how they form ideas about self. For example, it has been suggested that an

overwhelming amount of those youth who are repeatedly admitted to psychiatric care are African

Americans, confirming reports that African Americans are overrepresented in psychiatric

settings (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2001). Additionally, the individual and

community poverty often experienced by these youth has been connected to beliefs supporting

aggression and aggressive behavior (Guerra, Huesmann, Tolan, Van Acker, & Eron, 1995). It is

important to note that while the majority of the research we discuss will draw their samples from

largely Black populations, other ethnic minorities will be involved as well, including Hispanic

and Asian individuals.

Why look at various aspects of the self-concept? By doing so we can look at particular

parts of peoples self-concept, in order to create a fuller picture of their subjective psychological

experiences and examine the potential consequences. William James (1890) divided the self into

three subcategories: material self, social self, and spiritual self. We will divide the self into

further, more specific categories. These categories will apply to certain areas of ones life that

people are more likely to actually think about themselves in, such as ethnic and academic selves.


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That is to say, people are more likely to regularly consider who they are ethnically or

academically then in the three categories James suggests. We include ethnic identity because we

are studying ethnic minorities, with the goal of gaining insight into how the development or lack

of development, of this aspect of self-concept can be beneficial or detrimental to psychological

well-being. We will then look at how ethnic minority youth think of themselves academically,

gaining insight into the persistent academic gap between minority youth and their White

counterparts.

What factors outside of the individual effect how and why self-concept develops and

manifests itself? We will first look at stereotypes and prejudice, and how the perceived presence

of these can affect self-concept. Next, we will examine what makes aspects of the self more

salient in certain circumstances, and the potential implications of this. Last, we will examine how

parental and family influences affect the development and maintenance of certain aspects of the

self-concept.

Sub-Sets of Self-Concept

People form a self-concept towards many aspects of their lives. Current psychological

research has focused on a few of these aspects in order to gain further understanding into the

components that form a persons overall self-concept. Our goal is to look at specific aspects of

the lives of ethnic minority youth, and examine how and why these areas self-concept develop

and manifest, as well as the positive and negative consequences they may have.

Ethnic Self-Concept

We begin our examination of the literature by focusing on how racial minority youth

identify ethnically. Research has found that having various forms of ethnic identity has a host of

consequences. While there are different measures used to operationalize ethnic identity, one of


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the most common is the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), and its various subsets

(Phinney, 1992). Another popular measure, the Ethnic Identity scale, has been developed to

address some of the limitations of the MEIM (Umaa-Taylor, Yazedjian, Bamaca-Gomez,

2004). Our goal in this section is to try to form an answer to the question: Is it good for racial

minority youth to have a strong ethnic identity? Without even looking at the literature, one could

logically make an argument for ethnic identity being a good or a bad aspect of self. It makes

sense that it would be a good aspect, seeing as many people in the US seem to have pride in their

heritage, whether it traces back to somewhere in Europe, Asia, South America, or perhaps is

simply pride in being American. One would think that having this pride would increase self-

esteem. However, when thinking specifically about African American youth, one might come to

other conclusions. Maybe it is better not to associate with a particular group if the dominant

stereotypes about that group are negative. If a young person identifies solely with their own

ethnic group, does that limit them to their own ethnic group socially? Can you be too ethnically

identified? And in any case, arent we all striving for a world that doesnt see color, where

everyone is equal and no thought is given to race? Why should we encourage pride in being

Black, when we certainly wouldnt encourage people to voice pride in being White? Overall,

research has provided some evidence that having a strong ethnic identity can be helpful, but there

seems to be a point where ethnic identity can be detrimental. We will now look more specifically

at the current literature.

What are the potential benefits and consequences of having a high or low ethnic identity?

One study found that young Black female adolescents were significantly less likely to have risky

sexual attitudes if they reported a high ethnic identity. In this case ethnic identity was measured

by self-reported affiliation attitudes and belongingness in the individuals personal ethnic group


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(Belgrave, Van Oss Marin, Chambers, 2000). Another study of young Black women showed that

both high private and public racial identity were negatively correlated to depression. In this case

the ethnic component of self is aiding in better psychological well-being. The relation between

high private racial regard and lower depression was especially strong when ethnicity was a

central part of the womens self-concept. Finally, self-esteem played a mediating role between

private/public self-regard and depression. That is to say higher levels of regard were related to

higher self-esteem, which in turn related to lower depression. (Settles, Navarette, Pagano,

Abdou, Sidanius, 2010). Another study supports the idea that the development of a strong ethnic

identity is a positive thing. The results of this longitudinal study showed that increases in ethnic

identity from early to late elementary school aged children was related to higher self-esteem,

better academic performance, and lower parent-reported aggressive behavior. The relationship

was modest, but statistically significant (Smith, Levine, Smith, Dumas, Prinz, 2009). These

findings suggest that having a strong ethnic identity is a positive thing for ethnic minority youth.

Further longitudinal studies would help us understand how increases or a lack of increases in

ethnic identity through childhood and adolescence facilitate positive youth outcomes and

personal development for these individuals. With proper scientific support, school psychologists

working with these children would be better equipped to help this specific group of children. We

will discuss this possibility in more detail in the treatment section of this text.

Moving on to a different group of research, it appears that too much or a certain

extreme manifestation of ethnic identity can be very harmful. William Cross (1995) presented a

model for the shifting ethnic identity. This model is helpful for our discussion in that several

studies refer to theprinciples laid out in Crosss model, which consists of five stages: Pre-

encounter, Encounter, Immersion, Internalization, and Internalization-commitment. The Pre-


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encounter stage is when a person hasnt begun the identity development process, and is marked

by pro-White/anti-Black attitudes. These individuals do not value race as an essential part of

their identity, instead concerning themselves with the values of the majority, or what they

consider they societal norm. During the Encounter stage involves the beginning of

internalizing ones ethnicity as part of their identity. In the Immersion stage one begins to delve

into their culture and begin to attempt to show their culture in their attitudes and behaviors. This

could include changes in dress, friends, and general interests. The Internalization stage involves a

decrease in anti-White sentiment and security in identifying oneself with the Black group. The

final stage in Crosss model, Internalization-commitment, involves long-term commitment to

both furthering the ideals and needs of the Black group as well as for society as a whole. These

individuals are comfortable with both Black and White peers, and Cross argues this stage is only

attainable by experiencing all the previous stages, and is likely to occur later in adulthood.

Thinking about these stages it seems reasonable that older children and adolescents may be

anywhere on the first four of these stages, and research has been done to see how these stages

manifest and what consequences they have for the individual.

While they do not use the specific terms presented in Crosss model, Thompson,

Anderson, and Bakeman (2000) found that the type of racial identity attitudes an individual has

relates to the amount of acculturative stress they experience. Acculturative stress is related to

pressures of conforming ones own culture with the dominant culture. Those who have rigid

attitudes towards race, everything considered White viewed positively, everything considered

Black viewed negatively, or vice-versa, are more likely to experience acculturative stress than

those who take pride in their culture yet have generally more flexible racial attitudes. In this case

these individuals could be placed in the pre-encounter and immersion stages of Crosss model.


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This study also found a positive correlation between racial socialization and racial identity

attitudes, particularly that individuals who received high levels of racial socialization were more

likely to have pro-Black and anti-White attitudes. It is important to note that this study used

college aged participants, with an average age of 20 . It can be argued that Crosss identity

development stages are more likely to occur during adolescence, and that individuals who remain

at pre-encounter or immersion stages into adulthood are less likely to change their views and

progress toward another stage. While this study suggests that racial socialization has a negative

effect on ethnic identity development, more research must be done in this area before any broad

conclusions can be made about socializations effect on ethnic identity development.

These studies show the importance of noting the terminology used when discussing racial

identity. Cokley (2005) made the differentiation between racialized and nonracialized ethnic

identity. In this study it was found that current measurements of Afrocentric cultural values and

positive ethnic identity were negatively related to measurements of racialized ethnic identity.

Individuals with these results were said to have nonracialized ethnic identity, which is

characterized by validation of Afrocentric values, strong ethnic identity, rejection of internalized

racialism, and lack of anti-White attitudes. Racialized ethnic ident ity is characterized by anti-

White attitudes, beliefs about Afrocentrism, a belief in the natural ability of Blacks, a strong

ethnic identity, and negative endorsement of multiculturalist inclusive attitudes. These

distinctions are not made in all literature on this topic, and it is important to consider all aspects

that may contribute or be a part of ethnic self-concept, and their potential consequences. This

study also discussed problems with the term Afrocentric. One set of results showed that

endorsing Afrocentric values is negatively related to anti-White attitudes, while another set

showed a positive relationship between these two variables. The use of the word Afrocentric is


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difficult because it is never clearly defined in the literature, and it is fair to assume that

participants who rate statements using this word have different definitions for it. This issue is one

that is present throughout the literature on this topic, and one that must be resolved before this

area of study can begin to make further progress.

One study of male African American college students found that those who showed pre-

encounter or immersion racial identity (Cokleys racialized ethnic identity) showed more signs of

psychological distress and had lower self-esteem than those individuals who showed positive

internalization of racial identity. These latter individuals averaged higher self-esteem and better

self-reinforcement against racism. However, this study also found that those who identified more

with the overall Blackgroup reported lower self-esteem (Pierre and Mahalik, 2005). This

finding suggests two possible interpretations. Either Black men with low self-esteem identify

more with Black individuals than White, or Black men feel worse about themselves when

identifying themselves more with their Black peers than White peers.

Lets take a moment to reflect on these studies and their implications for our discussion.

We initially wanted to answer the question of whether having an ethnic identity is a good thing.

There is some literature that suggests that it is. However, further study into what constitutes

ethnic identity show that the picture is more complicated for ethnic identity than a simple yes

its good or no its bad. There seem to be differing levels of ethnic identity development,

which may not be fully explained by Crosss model. The last study we discussed shows this to be

evident, since it appears that those who would fall into the internalization stage have lower self-

esteem. Extensive further research is necessary before psychologists can create a specific

accurate model of how ethnic identity develops. Let us remember that our overall goal is to

improve the lives of these individuals, and a model such as this would be very helpful in


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achieving this goal. Ones first thought in investigating the literature was that there would be a

point of being ethnically identified that would be too much. Looking at it from Crosss model, as

many have, it seems that there is a point where the development of ethnic identity is actually not

enough, which is observed in the pre-encounter and immersion stages. How can we encourage

individuals to progress to a healthy level of ethnic identification, and what do these individuals

looks like?

Pierre and Mahaliks study above shows that group association may be an important

factor in developing a healthy ethnic identity. This important aspect of ethnic identity is not

always explicitly discussed in the literature, yet is seems to have real consequences. Rotheram-

Borus (1990) examined this in a large, ethnically diverse group of high school students, asking

them to categorize their ethnic reference-group as mainstream, bicultural,or ethnically

identified. Not surprisingly White students were significantly more likely to identify themselves

as mainstream, while ethnic minority students, including Hispanics, Blacks, and Asian-

Americans mostly identified themselves as bicultural (40-47%) or ethnically identified (26%).

The prevalence of the bicultural label suggests that these students identify both with their own

ethnic culture and with the White mainstream culture, thus would likely fall into fourth or fifth

stages of Crosss model. The most interesting results came from those who rated themselves as

ethnically identified. While these individuals did not show any differences in self-esteem,

grade point average, or social competence, they did hold more separatist attitudes, engage in less

cross-ethnic contact outside of school, and report more cross-ethnic conflict.

So where do we draw the line? The individuals in Rotheram-Boruss study who reported

as ethnically identified still had positive academic and social outcomes, yet also reported

worrying attitudes and behaviors. This article also continues to highlight the need for further


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work to understand how and why ethnic identity develops. Are these negative findings truly the

case of lack of development, as Cross would argue? Or are these individuals taking ethnicity too

far, to the point where the negative consequences start to pile up? One might view this problem

as simply one of semantics, but this is not the case. Answering these questions has important

implications for potential treatment and prevention strategies in addressing ethnicity problems

for these youth. Do we need to encourage these individuals into the next stage of development,

or do we need to work to tone ethnic identity down to a more adaptive level? As we will see

later, oftentimes ethnicity is a far more salient problem for these youth, so it is of the utmost

importance to further our knowledge in this area in order to improve the lives of these children

and adolescents.

Academic Self-Concept

Receivingsuccessful or substandardeducation is one of the biggest obstacles that many

ethnic minority children will face in their young lives. These children endure unique problems in

their lives that can have detrimental effects on their academics, even if not directly related to

school (Schwartz & Gorman, 2003; Fite and Pardini, 2009; McLoyd, 1998). While the trend is

narrowing, there has been a consistent academic achievement gap between Black and White

children in this country. This gap includes high school graduation rates, scores in reading and

math, and amount of students who go to college. So where is the problem? Many point to

underfunded public school systems in urban environments, which are often largely constituted by

ethnic minorities. This issue certainly plays a large role, as research has shown that schools in

affluent areas spend more money per student, while budget cuts often hit schools in low-income

areas even harder than those in affluent areas. These low-income area schools often consist

mainly of ethnic minority students. So should we simply allocate more money to these schools,


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and then the problem is solved? As with any important issue, there is no one easy solution. In

this section we will look at psychological issues that affect the academic life of ethnic minority

students, and how these childrens attitudes towards academics can play an important role in

their success.

Academic disidentification

In attempting to determine where the problem is for these disadvantaged children, we

must look at what is actually happening in these schools and in the minds of the students. One

possible stereotype that negatively affects Black students academic outcomes is academic

disidentification, which is the lack of association between ones identity and academics in

general. More generally, this would be the belief that being successful academically is a White

thing, and thus Black students do not put as much effort to academics. This belief might act as a

self-fulfilling prophecy, as Black students do not believe they can or will do well academically,

thus put in less effort in school. There resulting poor performance confirms and continues the

stereotype. This effect has also been called academic disidentification (Cokley, 2002). It is fair to

assume that children are born with a positive identification to academics; they want to do well. If

this is the case then it suggests that something happens during the education process which alters

the way they view themselves and their academic possibilities or prowess. Once these

stereotypes are learned, one theory argues that students disidentify with academics in order to

avoid confirmed the stereotype that Black students do not perform well academically (Steele,

1992). This phenomenon could also serve to protect self-esteem. Research has been done to

show this phenomenon at work, and try to understand what its causes are.

Research suggests that this stereotype is real and could begin at an early age. A study of

ethnically diverse 5th grade students aimed to see if there is a difference in how self-concept


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could play a role in childrens verbal learning styles. The authors found that Black children with

high levels of self-concept were more likely to recall negative adjectives, while White students

with high self-concept recalled positive words more frequently (August & Felker, 1977). This

finding suggests that not only can peoples ethnicity affect how they feels about themselves, as

we have discussed, but this can also affect learning styles. In interpreting these results it is

important to mention the phenomenon of the self-referent effect, which states that individuals

remember items better if they can refer those items to themselves. Although it is speculation, it is

possible that these students view themselves negatively based on their ethnicity and/or their

perceived academic possibilities, leading to greater memorization and recall of negative words.

Similar research suggests Black girls are less likely to attribute academic success to personal

attributes, while being more likely to blame oneself for bad results, while this effect was far less

predominant in White children (Brown, Furr, Fulkerson, Ware, Voight, 1984). These sorts of

findings are not limited to younger children, and have been linked directly to an individuals

academic self-concept, or how they incorporate academics into their identity. It has been found

that while there is a positive correlation between academic self-concept and academic

performance in Black and White older students, the magnitude and strength of this effect is

significantly lower for Black males (Cokley, 2002).

It has even been suggested that even bringing up ones ethnicity can have negative academic

effects. Probing about an individuals ethnic identification resulted in lower reported school

belonging than when only school belonging was reported alone. This occurrence has been found

in middle school, high school, andcollege students who are ethnic minorities (Mallet et al.,

2011).


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Our society should be worried by these findings, for it seems clear that ethnic minority

children are being negatively affected by education and/or societal messages, and putting them at

a disadvantage academically. Where are these attitudes and beliefs coming from? It is a fair

assumption that the majority of these children are not actively being told that they will not and

cannot do well in school, so what is happening? Are teachers treating these kids in such a way

that portrays they are destined to fail? Is social media, such as music and television, instilling the

belief that academic success is impossible? Are parents not properly fostering their children and

encouraging them to succeed academically? Or maybe these children simply look at their world

and see no reason to believe in themselves. It is a complicated issue, but one of extreme

importance. The goal of eliminating both the stereotype of Black children in academics as well

as the achievement gap must start with fully understanding not only the surrounding factors, but

those who are being affected. It is easy to throw blame at underfunding, non-motivated teachers,

or negative environments, but we must remember these are not the mostimportant things. What

is most important is thinking about those who suffer because of those outside factors, and to truly

gain insight into the problem we must look into the minds and experiences of these children.

Seeking further understanding of the origins to these negative self-beliefs should be a priority for

future research. Only then can we create plans to fix these problems.

Context

In this section we will examine the various contexts that effect self-concept and youth

outcomes. What factors affect how and why self-concept manifests, and what are the

consequences? We will begin with two quick looks at aspects pertaining particularly to ethnicity.

First we will examine self-concept in the context of racial prejudice and discrimination, followed


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by salience of race. Last we will take a deeper look into the role of parents and family and how

they influence the development of self-concept.

Racial Prejudice & Discrimination

Prejudice can be defined as a false and generally negative attitude towards members of a

particular group. Prejudice often includes negative feelings, stereotype beliefs, and

discriminatory behavior (Plous, 2003). Discrimination for our purposes can be defined as

negative or abusive behavior towards someone of a different race. From our previous discussion

of ethnic identity we concluded that there is evidence that a healthy ethnic identity can be

beneficial. However, it has also been found that children with a stronger ethnic identity recognize

ethnic bias and prejudice earlier and more frequently than those with weaker ethnic identities.

Particularly, Black, Hispanic, and White children in 6 th and 8th grade were found to generally

have the same amount of awareness of racial bias. However, 4 th grade minority students were

conscious of racial bias significantly more than White children at this age (Brown, Alabi, Huynh,

Masten, 2011). It could be argued that children of this age are too young to truly understand

prejudice, but this would mean that they could be making all kinds of false or negative beliefs

and attitudes about prejudice, which could be even more harmful. While one might not be

particularly worried about racism in elementary school, perhaps it is something that we should be

paying more attention to, especially for ethnic minority youth. Just as individuals differ in how

they deal with stress, it is fair to assume that people would vary in how they deal with racist

discrimination and the accompanying stress. This is an important area of research because if

psychologists can distinguish what personal differences cause someone to deal with

discrimination stress better than another, it could help in developing treatments and interventions

for those who are more susceptible to this stressor. Particularly in the late 1990s there was a push


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to study what factors might play a mediating role between perceived racism and mental health.

This is a difficult thing to study however, as researchers cannot experimentally manipulate racist

discrimination; that is, they cannot apply discrimination ethically. The literature on this topic is

inconclusive. It would be logical to think that there would be a positive correlation between

perceived racism and mental health issues, and some studies have found this result (Sue & Sue,

1990; Landrine & Klonoff, 1996; Szalacha et al., 2003). However, a study of young Black adults

had found no relationship between perceived racism and mental health. Additionally individuals

with high self-esteem reported poorer mental health when they had high levels of perceived

racist discrimination, while those with low self-esteem did not (Fischer & Shaw, 1999). Such

odd findings could be due to methodological flaws or flaws in the measures used, but either way

the conclusion is that more research needs to be done in this area to gain insight into how

prejudice and discrimination may be affecting ethnic minority youth.

Salience of Ethnicity

The distinctiveness postulate states that what aspects of identity people characterize

themselves as depend on how those characteristics differ from an individuals environment.

Simply, one is conscious of certain personal characteristics only insofar that they are different.

This idea has been applied to the context in which ethnic identity manifests in ethnic minority

youth, and it has been suggested that ethnic consciousness is significantly more salient for Black

and Hispanic children than White children (McGuire, McGuire, Child, Fugioka, 1978).

Interestingly this effect was found across ages, including 1st, 3

rd, 7

th, and 11

thgrade students.

Again we have evidence that race may be an important factor in the lives of younger children.

This has implications for everyone involved in the childs life. Another example of the

distinctiveness postulate is one that we are all familiar with: When there is only one person of a


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certain race in a group that shares ethnicity with each other. Whether its one Black individual in

a group of White individuals or vice-versa, this is a scenario that is often portrayed in a comedic

sense in movies and on television. The racially unique individual here is in racial solo status, and

theory states that this increases racial identity in Black individuals. Sekaquaptewa, Walden, and

Thompson (2007) found evidence to support this theory, and stated that this occurs because race

is more salient in these situations. Individuals who were put in solo status conditions experienced

increased racial identification, race-reflection, and performance apprehension. However, the

degree to which individuals experience these was positively correlated to how important

ethnicity was to their identity. Reflecting back on our discussion of ethnic identity, we see here

how ethnic identity can be a potential detriment at times, here causing performance anxiety. In

terms of salience, it is a relevant topic to explore because if we can determine what scenarios and

circumstances causes salience, and if the result is positive or negative characteristics, we can

work to encourage or avoid these situations and contexts.

Parental and Family Influence

There exists a large body of literature about the beneficial effects parents and families can

have on their children. However, much of this research has focused on White families, with

relatively little attention given to racial minorities in terms of the relationship between parenting

and various youth outcomes. We will discuss existing research, particularly how parents affect

the development of ethnic identity in their children. The development of self involves

individuals, their relationships, and relations with family of origin. One measure of overall

familial relationships has been positively correlated with child resilience to environmental

stressors and academic achievement, while negatively associated with aggressive behaviors

(Skowron, 2005). Positive parent-child relations have been related to higher self-esteem, lower


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rates of anti-social behavior (Arbona & Power, 2003), increased communication between parents

and children (Fulkerson et al., 2010), and less negative impact of racism on psychological

functioning (Bynum, Burton, Best, 2007). Just like the sitcom, research has shown that Family

Matters. We all know that family, parents in particular, are important to a childs development.

In this section we want to answer a simple question: Why? What sort of behaviors do parents of

ethnic minority youth engage in that are either beneficial or detrimental to their childs

development, particularly the development of self-related characteristics? How exactly does the

parent-child relationship relate to various aspects of childrens and adolescents self-concept?

We have previously concluded that a healthy level of positive ethnic identity can have several

beneficial effects. For children and adolescents, parents can play a large role in the development

of ethnic identity. How much the parents encourages incorporating ethnicity into a childs sense

of self could have obvious implication for the development of ethnic identity. In fact, Ramirez

Garcia, Manongdo, and Cruz-Santiago (2010) related this sort of encouragement to lower

adolescent substance abuse, while Smalls (2010) found that the fostering of ethnic pride by

parents was related to higher levels of academic engagement. Additionally, Rodriguez, Umaa-

Taylor, Smith, and Johnson (2009) wrote a short review of seven studies which found that ethnic

socialization in ethnic minority families contributes to better psychological and academic youth

outcomes. As is often the case for studies of youth and adolescents, a good longitudinal study

can be incredibly insightful. One such study involved measuring the development of ethnic

identity over a 4-year period in a racially diverse sample. While they found that most individuals

experienced an overall increase in ethnic identity over time, these effects were significantly

stronger when youth also reported more positive family relations and better perceptions of their

parents (Huang, 2011). Most would agree that good parent-child relationships have many


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beneficial effects of children and their development. This study suggests that one of these effects

pertains to ethnic identity, which we have concluded can be beneficial to overall well-being.

Could the development of ethnic identity play a mediating role in these results? Future research

is needed to begin to answer that question.

While it is fair to conclude that familial relations play an important role in the development of

many positive consequences for ethnic minority youth, it is important to remember the flip-side

of this conclusion. That is, negative family relations could have the opposite effects for all of the

studies we have discussed. While it is important to take these studies and think about how

psychologists can help parents do the right thing with their children, it is equally important to

consider how research can aid us in helping parents avoid doing the wrong thing. We will not

discuss this area in depth in this review, but research has shown that demanding or stressful

family relations can have several negative effects on these youth, including depression, lower

self-esteem, and lower optimism (Taylor, Budescu, McGill, 2011).

Prevention and Treatment

Learning about the workings of the human mind is interesting, but the goal of psychological

study must be to take these findings and create ways to apply them in order to better peoples

lives. While the findings we have discussed may be interesting, their real value comes from how

they can be used to create prevention and treatment plans. This includes preventing and treating

the negative symptoms, but also fostering the positive consequences. We will now look at

several strategies and intervention plans studied by the psychological community. Our review

will focus mainly on programs implemented in schools.

Perhaps the most basic strategy is afterschool programs. It is generally believed that

afterschool programs can have positive effects on children, whether they are clubs, social groups,


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or sports. These programs can teach children responsibility, teamwork, increase their social

skills, or just remove some time that young students pay otherwise spend getting into trouble

(Posner and Vandell, 1999). However, low-funding can severely limit the choices children and

parents have for afterschool programs. These programs are especially important to schools in

urban, low-income areas, where children have fewer positive outlets and more opportunities for

getting into trouble. To think that programs that have the potential to be effective at preventing

negative outcomes while fostering positive ones are being made unavailable to those students

who need it most is unacceptable. Further research by the psychological community could be a

powerful tool in the designing, implementing, and maintaining of afterschool programs.

Another program which has found success is Head Start, which is the largest publicly

funded early childhood education and care program in the United States. The programs main

goal is to ready young children for academic success. Zhai, Brooks-Gunn, and Waldfogel (2011)

found that children who participated in this program had higher cognitive ability, increased

social competence, and fewer attention problems. The program did not have any effect on

behavioral problems. The Head Start program is good, but obviously not perfect. School

psychologists should look into this program in order to learn for themselves, but also to

contribute into making the program even more effective.

The unfortunate truth is that many families will not have access to programs like these,

aimed at preventing problems and nurturing positive growth. Luckily, more creative plans have

been designed as well. Friedrich-Cofer, Huston-Stein, McBride Kipnis, Susman, and Clewett

(1979) studied the effects of pro-social television programs at one Head Start center, and found

that these programs increased positive social interactions with peers and adults, as well as

imaginative play when supplemented by related materials. With further research and


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modification, these types of television programs could be made available to parents to use in

their homes. In the time since this study childrens television has changed, with some programs

now explicitly stating how they are aiding your childs development. Continued psychological

research could lead to entire television channels dedicated to these types of programs, which

could be immensely helpful for parents.

One plan that has found broad success is peer-assisted learning (PAL). PAL is a broad

term for interventions that include peer tutoring and cooperative learning activities. A review of

several studies by Ginsburg-Block, Rohrbeck, and Fantuzzo (2006) found that this type of

intervention was successful in creating positive academic and social outcomes in elementary

aged students, and these effects were more pronounced for urban, low-income, ethnic minority

students. This could be an effective, cost efficient strategy for urban schools to foster the

academic and social success of their young students. Many programs that are designed to treat

behavioral or emotional problems involve some sort of interpersonal education or skill

development. Some believe that children would have fewer of these problems if schools

addressed interpersonal skill development explicitly. School is certainly a place to acquire social

skills, but children and adolescents may benefit from classes dedicated solely to interpersonal

skill development. Gunlicks-Stoessel, Mufson, Jekal, and Turner (2010) found that interpersonal

psychotherapy was useful in treating ethnic minority adolescents suffering from depression,

especially when these individuals report high levels of conflict at home and/or social dysfunction

with their peers. Instead of waiting for the depression, an interpersonal skills class may have a

preventative effect, or at least prevent some of the social dysfunction that contributes to the

depression. Another study done by Elias and Haynes (2008) found a relationship between

academic outcomes and social-emotional competency. In this case those students with higher


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initial social-emotional competency and those who showed greater improvements in competency

had better academic outcomes throughout the school year. This suggests that school

psychologists and even teachers should be aware and pay attention to young students social and

emotional experiences in order to foster academic success, perhaps with specially designed

classes. These kinds of classes exist in some private schools, and psychological research on the

effectiveness of such classes could be very helpful to schools, even if it is not the most cost

effective solution.

By reading through the research it becomes clear that one important aspect of

interventions is timing. In general, earlier is better. The review done by Ginsburg-Block and her

colleagues (2006) found that PAL interventions were significantly more effective when

administered at an early age. Bradshaw, Zmuda, Kellam, and Ialongo (2009) illustrated the

benefits of early prevention programs in their study, where they found that classroom and family

based intervention programs led to higher academic achievement and involvement in elementary

school students when administered early in the childrens academic careers. The responsibility

for taking advantage of early prevention strategies is completely on the parents. Kilgore, Snyder,

and Lentz (2000) found that coercive parent discipline and poor parental monitoring of their

children at age 4 was a reliable predictor of behavior problems at age 6. Parents must realize

and take responsibility for the role they play in affecting their children and making their lives

more or less difficult. Psychological research on how parents could play key roles in prevention

is vital, but getting that information to the parents is even more important, if more difficult.

Last, the easiest prevention strategy that could be implemented is simply having support

available. Diemer, Kauffman, Koenig, Trahan, and Hsieh (2006) found that perceived support


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from peers, family, and community is directly related to ethnic minority adolescents ability to

challenge racism and social injustice. The ability to rise up and succeed in a low-income urban

life is difficult enough, and simply having a support system can go great lengths in helping these

individuals believe in themselves and their ability to succeed despite the odds.

In conclusion, while we have gained insight into the area of self in ethnic minority youth,

there is still significant work to be done. As society changes, so does the mindset of the

individuals within that society, as well as the world that is shaping our youth. Research must

continue, and must not stop until the inequalities and unique struggles that these children face no

longer exist. By looking at how these individuals form their concept of self, we gain insight not

only into their minds, but into the world around them. Psychologists are trained to know how to

reveal these insights, and so it is their duty not only to do so, but then to take that knowledge and

apply it in order to change the lives of these youth for the better. The existing literature is a good

start.


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Senior Seminar Literature Review