Adolescent self-concept among Han, Mongolian, and Korean Chinese

Adolescence, Winter, 1997 by Donald K. Sharpes, Xinbing Wang

Chapman (1988) found that the self-concepts of learning-disabled students were lower than those of nonhandicapped children, but that there were greater differences for academic self-concept than for general self-concept. Chapman concluded that academic self-concept was "a factor related to, yet distinct from, general self-concept or self-esteem."

Openshaw et al. (1983) found that adolescent self-esteem was more a function of social interaction and "reflected appraisals" of others than a modeling of parents' self-esteem. Buri (1992) investigated the effects of parental nurturance and found a positive correlation with the self-esteem of college students, but more so for females than males. Brookover (1989) noted "that self-concept of academic ability is not constant but varies with the social situation and expectations, evaluations that students perceive others hold for them." This conclusion was drawn from an analysis of special education students who had higher self-concepts when placed in special education classes than when they were transferred to regular classrooms.

The majority of empirical investigators have focused on the self-concept of adolescents from the perspective of unfolding social relationships, particularly with parents and peers (Openshaw et al., 1983). According to Rosenberg and Gaier (1977), "adolescence is a critical stage of identity seeking partially through the vehicle of widening peer relationships." Tierno (1983) observed that middle schools were inappropriate for dealing with early adolescents' emerging sense of self-identity, especially schools that emphasized academics and minimized personal development.

Schiamberg (1969) presented an enlightening analysis of intergenerational relationships among adolescents in non-American cultures. He pointed out, following Erikson, that the primary source of conflict between parents and adolescents is the failure of parents to accord recognition to adolescent achievements, and the adolescent revolt against parental values and dominance. He also credited Lewin's field theory, which maintains that the adolescent is in transition to an adult life space. What seems clear is that adolescent self-concept is not just a matter of studying personality, but also involves interactions within a sociocultural framework. The sociocultural interaction hypothesis, he concluded, suggests that environment is the primary agent responsible for identity formation.

Verkuyten (1995) investigated the relationship between ethnic identity and self-feelings among both majority and minority youth. Verkuyten assessed global self-esteem, self-concept stability, and ethnic membership among Dutch youth and found no significant differences, except to report that minority Dutch youth, primarily Turkish and Chinese, identified more positively with their ethnic identity than did the majority Dutch youth.

In South Africa, Meyer (1988) found that scholastic self-concept made a more significant contribution to the prediction of scholastic achievement than did IQ. Meyer concluded that nonacademic self-concept variables had no predictive value for the scholastic achievement of secondary school students in that country. Also in South Africa, Burns (1988) found in a study of both white and colored adolescents that there was less emphasis on coping with societal problems than on issues that affected them personally.