Self-Esteem Among Southeastern Black-American Couples

Abstract

One of the essential components of symbolic interaction theory has been the concept of self. Since the late ninteenth century, social and behavioral scientists such as William James have used the notion of self to develop &dquo;unifying integrating concepts to handle problems of consistency of the person and the continuity of this consistency over time&dquo; (Sherif, 1968). Sherwood (1965) has noted that the self as a theoretical construct is multidimensional and that it must include both structural and affective qualities. The essential affective quality of the self has been labeled self-esteem, which Crandall (1973: 45) defined as: &dquo;liking and respect for one's self which has some realistic basis.&dquo; Coopersmith (1967: 2-6) noted that the evaluative attitudes towards one's self are relatively enduring and that the judgmental process involved in &dquo;self-evaluation&dquo; assumes that the &dquo;individual examines his performance, capacities and attributes ... and arrives at a decision of his own worthiness&dquo; (1967: 6).