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Self-esteem among ethnic minority youth in Western countries

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Abstract

Low global self-esteem among minority youth living in Western countries has been considered a truism for a long time. Empirical research, however, tells another story. A review of recent studies using well-established scales is presented, showing no systematic indications of lower global self-esteem. Four possible methodological/technical explanations for this finding are discussed: superficial measuring, defensiveness, measure equivalence, and respons patterns. It is concluded that there are no systematic and decisive methodological/technical explanations for the empirical find. In the present study attention is focusses on socio-psychological explanations. Three different assumptions underlying the argument for presumed lower self-esteem among minority youth were empirically studied among Turkish youth living in the Netherlands. The results show that these assumptions are not invariably true which explains why, in general, minority youth do not have lower global self-esteem. It is argued that these assumptions can also be used to predict under what conditions minority status will be associated with lower self-esteem.

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  1. Department of General Social Sciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

    Maykel Verkuyten

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Verkuyten, M. Self-esteem among ethnic minority youth in Western countries. Soc Indic Res 32, 21–47 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01078464

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