Variation in self-esteem among adolescents in an Asian/Pacific-Islander sample

Variation in global self-esteem among adolescents differentiated in terms of age, gender, Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian ethnicity, self-reported grades (SRGs) and socioeconomic status (SES) was examined in the present study. Being older, male or non-Hawaiian and higher SRGs or SES were hypothesized to be associated with higher global self-esteem. Six hundred and ninety-six Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian high school students provided responses to demographic items, the 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale [RSES; Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press], and items assessing SRGs and SES. Adolescent males reported significantly higher self-esteem than adolescent females. Adolescents differing in SRGs and SES also varied significantly from one another in self-esteem, with the general pattern indicating higher SRGs and SES to be associated with higher self-esteem. The significant age-by-SRGs interaction effect suggested the consequence of academic success throughout the high school years. Findings regarding the present Asian/Pacific-Islander adolescent sample corresponded with that found for other adolescent samples of different ethnic compositions, which provided support for the generalizability of variation in global self-esteem and its noted correlates across various socio-cultural contexts.