Dress, self-esteem, self-efficiency and the academic achievement of African-American high school girls

Abstract

Dress, the self, and education are vital parts of the African-American adolescent way of life. It has been said that African-Americans, in general, spend more of their resources on clothing accessories, and other body adornments (such as hair), than any other race of people. As dress is so important to this population, we discuss how AfricanAmerican adolescent girl's self-esteem, self-efficacy, and academic achievement are affected by dress. We further confer how dress has affected individual and peer acceptance, teacher and peer expectations, school performance, behavioral issues, and crime issues. The implementation of uniforms into the public school sector is discussed to expose the proposed benefits and criticisms from school officials, students, and parents. Lastly, we argue the theoretical views that must be considered when studying dress as it relates to the self and education of AfricanAmerican adolescent girls.