Presentation Type
Poster
Presentation Type
Submission
Department
Psychology
Major
Psychology
Abstract
Background: Society has made it difficult for people of all backgrounds to be confident in themselves and their racial identity. For African American there are several underlying issues that impact self esteem. Research has found that lighter skin colored African Americans tend to exhibit stronger racial identity, and that darker skin individuals more satisfied with their skin color actually had lower self-esteem (Coard et al, 2006). Given the past research, a study considering skin tone color, gender, and momentary racial identity in regards to self esteem in African American emerging adults was proposed to address the lack of research on the various variables that can impact self esteem in the daily lives of African Americans. We hypothesized that light skinned individuals, males, and individuals with high momentary racial identity will have higher momentary self esteem.
Method: 53 healthy African American emerging adults completed a comprehensive 4-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol that included a self-report skin tone complexion measure (Keith et al., 2010) at baseline and EMA adaptations of racial identity and self-esteem items from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (Sellers et al., 1997) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965).
Results: Regression analysis found that male gender (b = 0.21, p = .042), lighter self-reported skin tone (b = 0.23, p < .0001), and higher momentary racial identity (b = 0.33, p < .0001) were significantly associated with higher momentary self-esteem.
Discussion: Results suggest that skin tone and racial identity are associated with self-esteem, such that individuals reporting lighter skin tones and stronger racial identity report higher self-esteem. These findings suggest that black identity and skin tone must be considered within theories of self esteem and that individual-level self-esteem should be addressed in holistic, multidimensional, multi-level movements to reduce negative skin-tone related stereotypes and beliefs within the African American community.
Faculty Mentor
Nataria T. Joseph
Funding Source or Research Program
Not Identified
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
22-3-2024 1:30 PM
End Date
22-3-2024 2:30 PM
Included in
Shades of Identity: Exploring the Impact of Skin Tone, Gender, and Racial Identity on Self-Esteem in African American Emerging Adults
Waves Cafeteria
Background: Society has made it difficult for people of all backgrounds to be confident in themselves and their racial identity. For African American there are several underlying issues that impact self esteem. Research has found that lighter skin colored African Americans tend to exhibit stronger racial identity, and that darker skin individuals more satisfied with their skin color actually had lower self-esteem (Coard et al, 2006). Given the past research, a study considering skin tone color, gender, and momentary racial identity in regards to self esteem in African American emerging adults was proposed to address the lack of research on the various variables that can impact self esteem in the daily lives of African Americans. We hypothesized that light skinned individuals, males, and individuals with high momentary racial identity will have higher momentary self esteem.
Method: 53 healthy African American emerging adults completed a comprehensive 4-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol that included a self-report skin tone complexion measure (Keith et al., 2010) at baseline and EMA adaptations of racial identity and self-esteem items from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (Sellers et al., 1997) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965).
Results: Regression analysis found that male gender (b = 0.21, p = .042), lighter self-reported skin tone (b = 0.23, p < .0001), and higher momentary racial identity (b = 0.33, p < .0001) were significantly associated with higher momentary self-esteem.
Discussion: Results suggest that skin tone and racial identity are associated with self-esteem, such that individuals reporting lighter skin tones and stronger racial identity report higher self-esteem. These findings suggest that black identity and skin tone must be considered within theories of self esteem and that individual-level self-esteem should be addressed in holistic, multidimensional, multi-level movements to reduce negative skin-tone related stereotypes and beliefs within the African American community.