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Journal Summary
March 2001 Personal and Ethnic Identity, Values and Self Esteem Among Black and Latino Adolescent Girls Original article authored by Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, Steve Dopkins, Nuria Sabate, and Marguerita Lightfoot
In this study, the authors examine the effect of school environment, ethnicity, and grade level on personal and ethnic identity development, values, and self-esteem among African American, Latino American, and White American adolescent girls. Their conclusions lead them to question whether current theories of adolescent identity development are applicable to girls and non-European ethnic groups.
Personal
Identity Erickson’s work has been central in guiding research on personal identity development, and James Marcia (1966) has developed a framework that facilitates research on the subject. Marcia recognizes six domains in which adolescents search for identity:
He has also identified four identity status, or states of development:
Ethnic
Identity
These definitions
and categories were utilized in this study to compare adolescent females
attending two working-class neighborhood high schools in the northeastern
U.S.
School One had a more "traditional" context. For example, there was a dress code and an academically inclined staff and student body. Although it was clean, the school itself was overcrowded, and the building was fairly old and relatively small. Although the grounds of School Two were about four times larger than those of School One, it too was overcrowded and the building dilapidated. Teachers appeared stressed by these conditions. Both schools were ethnically diverse, cross-ethnic contact was common, and staff ethnicity reflected that of the student body. All students were approached to participate in the study, but a higher level of student and parental involvement at School One resulted in a 100% participation rate at that school, compared with a two-thirds participation rate at School Two. Assessments
for this study were completed in three days and consisted of responses
to videotaped situations, questionnaires and interviews. Both boys and
girls completed the questionnaires, but interviews were conducted with
girls only.
Personal identity was measured by qualitative and quantitative assessments of gender roles, vocational plans, religious beliefs, and political ideologies. Students rated statements in each of these domains and for each of the four categories (diffuse, foreclosed, moratorium, or achieved). A higher score indicated a strong match between the statement and the student’s beliefs or attitudes, while a low score meant the statement did not match beliefs or attitudes. Significant differences by gender were not found for this measure. As girls at School Two strongly endorsed statements from all four categories, questions were raised as to the validity of this measure for this school. For ethnic identity, two self-report measures were used. The first assessed attitudes, feelings and roles regarding one’s ethnicity, using the same categories as with personal identity (diffuse, foreclosed, moratorium, achieved). The second was the students’ self-labeling as "mainstream," "bicultural," or "strongly ethnically identified." In this study, girls were more likely than boys to label themselves as "strongly ethnically identified" and scored higher than boys on the "diffuse" status. Girls scored lower on measures of self-esteem than their male counterparts, a finding consistent with previous research. Older girls, African-American girls, and those who self-labeled as "strongly ethnically identified" scored highest on this measure. To assess values, students were asked to rate themselves along four dimensions. A higher score on each dimension indicated more "traditional" values. Those who self-rated as "traditional" were characterized as cooperative, emotionally expressive, and having a group or family orientation, and respect for authority. Girls scored higher on each dimension, indicating more traditional values than boys. Qualitative interviews examining vocational plans, ethnic identity and gender roles were conducted with ninth- and twelfth-grade girls at both schools. Interviewers classified girls’ reports as one of three processes:
Students reported very few incidences of racism and held traditional gender role beliefs. After further examination of the girls’ experiences, the interviewers concluded that many had committed to their ethnic and gender roles before examining their feelings, beliefs, or alternative choices in these arenas. Girls were
also asked to rank the effects of influences and role models in their
lives. Students rated their parents and other family members as influential
in identity development, gender roles and ethnic identity. However, neither
parents nor other influences such as church or the media were seen by
students as affecting their vocational choices.
In examining the results of these interviews, the authors were lead to question current accepted theories of identity development. These theories are heavily based on such Northern-European values as independence, self-direction and autonomy, which contrast the more typically Latin and Asian values of a family-oriented focus and harmony with the universe. Ironically, White-American girls are still more socialized towards this latter set of values. Thus, popular development theories may not be applicable to girls and ethnic minorities. Perhaps even the process of identity development is different for girls than for boys. It has been noted that girls’ identity is often heavily influenced by their interpersonal relationships. As suggested by the girls’ interviews, their search for identity may be more about allowing their identity to unfold and losing one’s boundaries in social groups than about actively seeking out an identity and individuating oneself from others. Definitions of identity development, and the process by which it is achieved, must expand beyond culturally bound hypotheses.
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