Not so Black and White: Examining the Black-white Self-esteem Paradox at the Intersection of Age, Race/Ethnicity

• In Event: 1284 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Race/Ethnicity, Happiness, and Self-esteem

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to expand literature on self-esteem, age and race. The racial landscape of the U.S. is shifting, and researchers must consider the effects of ethnicity and nativity on the formation of self-esteem. Although the United States has a growing number of Black ethnic groups many studies that explore race and self-esteem fail to specify the ethnic make-up of their Black group. The Black experience is diverse with individuals from different countries of origin, who speak different languages, and experience different cultures. Utilizing the Nation Survey of American Life I explored self-esteem across three groups: African Americans, Afro-Caribbean Blacks, and non-Latino Whites with a sample of 4,798 cases of adults ranging from 18 to 94. The following questions guide this research: (1) what is the relationship between race and self-esteem at different ages for Whites, African Americans, and Afro-Caribbean Blacks? (2) Is the relationship explained by differences in discrimination and/or racial social identity? (3) Do the patterns vary by ethnic identity (i.e. African- American, Afro-Caribbean Black)? The central findings revealed that Afro-Caribbean Blacks displayed a positive relationship between self-esteem and age, similar to Whites, while African- Americans displayed a negative relationship. In addition, further analyses revealed that Afro- Caribbean Black’s self-esteem trajectory across age is best accounted for when taking both their ethnic and racial identity into account. Afro-Caribbean Blacks benefit from having two frames of reference that both offer their own set of protective mechanisms. Together these findings suggest that when exploring self-esteem and age only considering the Black-White binary suppresses the effect of Black ethnicity on self-esteem and obscures important findings.

Author

• Jasmine Lanisha Davis, Indiana University