Ethnic discrimination and global self-worth in early adolescents: The mediating role of ethnic self-esteem

Abstract

Peer victimization based on one's ethnic group membership contributes to the problems and conflicts of ethnic minority children around the world. With ethnic discrimination, a part of the self is implicated. Hence, it is likely that being treated negatively on the basis of one's ethnicity has a negative influence on ethnic self-esteem and thereby on feelings of global self-worth. Following structural models of the self it was predicted that ethnic self-esteem mediates the relationship between ethnic peer discrimination and global self-worth. To test this prediction a large scale study ( N= 2682) was conducted among Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese and Dutch young adolescents (aged 10 to 13) living in The Netherlands. Using structural equation analysis, we found the predicted mediation for all four groups of participants. In addition, to examine the precise role of ethnic discrimination we also considered other types and dimensions of peer victimization. Our distinction between reasons (personal and ethnic) and types (teasing/name calling and social exclusion form play) of peer victimization fitted the data adequately. Global self-worth was more strongly related to experiences with teasing and name calling than to social exclusion.

How Does Ethnic Identification Impact the Recall of and Reactions to Discrimination?

“…A growing number of studies have found that ethnic identification moderates the relationship between discrimination and self-esteem (Romero & Roberts, 2003), selfworth (Verkuyten & Thijs, 2006), depression, anxiety, and distress (Mossakowski, 2003;Neblett et al, 2004;Sellers et al 2003). The current research extends this line of research by offering what is, to my knowledge, the first study to experimentally manipulate discrimination and consider the effects of this manipulation and its interaction with ethnic identification on a wider array of measured well-being.…”

Effects of Perceived Discrimination on the School Satisfaction of Brazilian High School Graduates

“…Whereas ENEM enables the relationship between discrimination and school satisfaction to be isolated when controlling for a large number of other influences it does not tell us whether the perceived discrimination reported was an isolated event or a constant occurrence (bullying) that further affects school satisfaction, subjective well-being and future life (Olweus, 1992(Olweus, , 1994Nansel et al, 2001;Verkuyten & Thijs, 2006). Students who perceived discrimination of any form were much more dissatisfied with school than those who did not.…”

“…by the perception/judgment students had of being discriminated against. Previous studies have found that name calling and teasing are among the most common forms of peer victimization, along with social exclusion (Smith & Brain, 2000;Verkuyten & Thijs, 2001;Borg, 1999;Verkuyten & Thijs, 2006).…”

Perceiving Discrimination in “Real Life”: Distinguishing Negative Events From Discrimination Attributions

“…These three types of experiences are important aspects of peer victimization that have been successfully examined in previous research (Verkuyten & Thijs, 2006). The three items had a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (absolutely never!)…”

“…Several studies have shown that highly identified group members are more vigilant in that they perceive more discrimination than lowly identified group members (e.g., Major, Quinton, & Schmader, 2003;Sellers & Shelton, 2003). However, ethnic identification can also be a source of positive self-feelings (e.g., Verkuyten & Thijs, 2006), and therefore it is important to control for it while examining the effect of the attribution to discrimination.…”