Self-Esteem in Hispanic Adolescent Females and Its Relation to Dual Parent Households and Single Mother Households
Author: Stevens, Linda Marie Pettis
Date: 2002-12-00
Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Subjects: Divorce,Racial Differences,Poverty,Mothers,Latin American Culture,Cultural Influences,Adolescents,Measures (Individuals),Parent Influence,Urban Areas,Self Esteem,Hispanic Americans,One Parent Family,Correlation,Family Structure,Social Influences,Daughters,Questionnaires,Parent Child Relationship,Ethnicity

The development of a sense of self in adolescence has been shown to be influenced by the perceived level of warmth of the mother. Additionally, the nature of the home environment has been found to relate to an adolescent's level of self-esteem (Buri, 1990; Field, Lang, Yando, and Bendell, 1993). Hispanic adolescent females and their mothers in both dual parent households and single mother households face social challenges that affect self-esteem. A number of societal concerns such as lower availability of higher education, fewer high salaried jobs and inadequate health care influence the sense of identity and self-esteem of these females (Allen, Hauser, Bell, and O'Commer, 1994; Ex and Janssen, 1998). Women of color, especially Hispanic women, may consider themselves of lower worth than the majority culture due to their own expectations (Anderson, 1996). Studies report white adolescent's self-esteem is higher than that of minority adolescents, especially females (Dukes and Martinez, 1994). Hispanic female headed households are more likely to live in poverty than Anglo and African American female headed households (Baca-Zinn and Dill, 1994). The General Accounting Office (1991) reported that Hispanics dropped out of school at rates considerably higher than did Anglo and African American students. Women with low self-esteem often raise children with similar self-esteem. Women in divorced families as well as their children especially from Latin American culture often experience lower self-esteem that continues to be exacerbated by societal expectations and relegation (Frey and Carlock, 1989). The purpose of the study was to examine the self-esteem of Hispanic adolescent females and their mothers in dual parent and single mother households. The sample consisted of a convenience sample of ninety Hispanic adolescent females and their mothers from an urban area. Fifty-nine mother-daughter pairs lived in dual parent households and thirty-one mother-daughter pairs lived in single mother households. Both correlational and causal comparative research designs were used. The mothers completed the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory-Adult Form (1981) and mother questionnaires. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory-Adult Form ascertained the self-esteem, while the mother questionnaire provided information about the mother-daughter relationship, ethnicity, and household living situation. The adolescents were given the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory- School Form to ascertain their self-esteem. t-tests were used to compare the self-esteem subscale scores for general, &quot;household parent,&quot; &quot;school academic,&quot; &quot;social settings and peers,&quot; and total self-esteem for the Hispanic adolescent females from dual parent and single mother households. The Hispanic adolescent females living in dual parent and single mother households showed no statistically significant differences in general and total self-esteem. However, the results indicated an educational significance with the Hispanic adolescent females in dual parent households having higher general and total self-esteem than the Hispanic adolescent females living in single mother households. The mothers living in dual parent and single mother households also showed no statistically significant difference with respect to general and total self-esteem. The Pearson product moment correlation indicated a significantly positive correlation between the Hispanic adolescent females' total self-esteem and their mothers' level of total self-esteem. English and Spanish versions of the Mother Questionnaire and Consent to Participate in Research as well as the Adolescent's Assent to Participate in Research are appended. A bibliography is included. (Contains 7 figures and 7 tables.)