A longitudinal study investigating the relationships among multicultural receptivity, sense of community, and self‐esteem of Korean adolescents

Abstract

The relative homogeneity in ethnicity and language of native Koreans and their highly competitive lifestyle, especially among adolescents preparing for college, have limited their solidarity with heterogeneous ethnic groups, which may cause problems in this global era. This study uses the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey to explore the relationships among multicultural receptivity, sense of community, and self‐esteem for Korean adolescents over three time points. For this purpose this study conducted an autoregressive cross‐lagged path analysis, controlling for covariates such as gender, parenting style, peer attachment, and satisfaction with academic achievement. The cross‐lagged effects on each other of self‐esteem and sense of community were positive over time. The cross‐lagged effects on each other of multicultural receptivity and self‐esteem were not statistically significant. The results were less symmetrical for the third pairing: the effects of multicultural receptivity on sense of community were consistently positive, but the effects of sense of community on multicultural receptivity were not statistically significant. To enhance the sense of community, promoting multicultural receptivity and self‐esteem would therefore show good results.

Exploring the predictors affecting the sense of community of Korean high school students: application of random forests and SHAP

“…Specifically, self-related variables such as “academic self-concept,” “social self-concept” and “self-management” are the top variables with a positive relationship with sense of community. These results are supported in the literature ( Park, 2021 ; Chon and Kim, 2022 ). Therefore, it is important for schools to recognize the importance of intrapersonal variables in improving a sense of community and encouraging students to develop a healthy self-concept and perceive themselves positively.…”

“…On the other hand, previous studies have provided mixed results concerning the causal relationship and direction between “multicultural acceptance” and sense of community. Some studies indicate that “multicultural acceptance” affects sense of community ( Park, 2021 ); others suggest that sense of community influences “multicultural acceptance” ( Choi, 2019 ). Consequently, in-depth and further research is needed to explore and clarify the relationships between these two variables.…”

“…Some studies have reported greater levels of sense of community among male students ( Kim and Kim, 2015 ; Leiva et al, 2021 ), others have shown greater levels of sense of community among female students ( Kissinger et al, 2009 ; Park, 2019 ), and others have indicated no significant gender differences ( Wilkinson, 2008 ; Park et al, 2015 ). The self-related variables of “self-efficacy” and “self-esteem” are positively associated with students’ sense of community ( Park, 2021 ; Chon and Kim, 2022 ). “Career maturity” ( Jung et al, 2018 ), “multicultural acceptance” ( Choi and Lee, 2021 ), and “life satisfaction” ( Cantarero et al, 2007 ) have also been defined as predictors of students’ sense of community.…”