Self-esteem assessment of young female university students according to race/skin color criteria

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate and compare the self-esteem of young female university students aged between 18 and 24 years old according to race/skin color criteria. Method: a cross-sectional and quantitative study, developed with 240 undergraduate female students from a public Brazilian university. Data collection took place online through a structured questionnaire that included the participants’ sociodemographic and lifestyle habits, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, association test, and comparison of means were used. Results: most of the young women had a mean level of self-esteem. No statistically significant association was found among the “self-esteem level” and “self-reported skin color or race” variables. Conclusion: although no significant association was identified between self-reported skin color or race and level of self-esteem, young black women have lower mean self-esteem scores than young non-black women. Strategies that strengthen the self-esteem of young female university students are necessary to prevent harms to their physical and mental health, and, consequently, to their academic performance.

Is self-esteem associated with the elderly person’s quality of life?

“…In this sense, international studies have shown an association between exposure and racial discrimination with negative impacts on the mental health of victims aged between 18 and 58 years old (20) and between 18 and 76 years old (24) . Otherwise, there is a Brazilian study developed with women between 18 and 24 years old that did not identify a statistically significant association between the level of self-esteem and self-reported race/color, although black participants showed the lowest mean self-esteem scores when compared to non-black participants (15) . Furthermore, the fact that the self-declared brown elders have better self-esteem in our study may be associated with issues related to the "strength of racial identity", defined as the positive feeling of belonging and attachment to their identity (15) , which increases their self-esteem and acts to protect these people from the internalization of bad feelings resulting from discrimination (25) .…”

“…Otherwise, there is a Brazilian study developed with women between 18 and 24 years old that did not identify a statistically significant association between the level of self-esteem and self-reported race/color, although black participants showed the lowest mean self-esteem scores when compared to non-black participants (15) . Furthermore, the fact that the self-declared brown elders have better self-esteem in our study may be associated with issues related to the "strength of racial identity", defined as the positive feeling of belonging and attachment to their identity (15) , which increases their self-esteem and acts to protect these people from the internalization of bad feelings resulting from discrimination (25) . Therefore, self-esteem is, in most cases, a psychological strategy for protection, adaptation, and coping with stressful events (26) .…”

“…The fact that most of the participants in our study present satisfactory self-esteem gives health professionals a sense of accomplishment, since self-esteem is considered an essential factor in old age and corresponds to one of the personality dimensions that exerts the greatest influence on wellbeing and adapting to the world; therefore, it is a relevant aspect for success and satisfaction with life (14) . In addition, higher self-esteem scores have been associated with positive attitudes towards health, while low scores are related to risky behavior, such as suicidal behavior (15) . In this sense, we bring an inference about the self-care of the elderly with their health: we noticed better self-esteem scores among females, as men only seek health services when they are already ill, which, consequently, can compromise their health, self-esteem, and QoL, considering possible causality between these variables.…”

Saúde Mental da População Negra no Brasil: Revisão Integrativa

“…No entanto, no Brasil, não existem pesquisas expressivas que possam embasar esse argumento. Mas, nos Estados Unidos, as mulheres negras pesquisadas apresentam os maiores níveis de autoestima, e acredita-se que isso aconteça como resultado do processo de pertencimento racial (Silva & Monteiro, 2020).…”

Psychometric properties of the Rosenberg self-esteem scale in Mexican university students

“…Self-esteem in the political sphere was approached to predict the perception of political inclusion in young people living in poverty (Castro et al, 2020). Its association with sociodemographic variables such as sex, age, or ethnicity has also been evaluated (Da Silva & Dos Santos, 2020;Sigüenza et al, 2019). It has been linked to dental disorders (Sharma et al, 2007) and as a means of evaluating experimental designs (Calero et al, 2016).…”