The reservation adolescents' self-concept

Abstract

The self-concept of 271 reservation Indian and white adolescents was measured by a ten-item seIf-esteem scaIe developed by Rosenberg in 1965, and compared with respect to age, sex, grade, ordinal position, number of children in the family, family communication and socio-economic status of the parents. The Indian and white adoIescent seIf-concept did not differ significantly when tested by chi-square. While age proved to be the only factor significantly related to the self-concept in both groups, number of children in the family and family communication were significantly related to the white adolescents' self-concept. Indian and white adolescents' self-concepts differed significantly in grades 11-12. From chi-square values it was concIuded that the difference in seIf-concept between the Indian and white reservation adolescent was negligible and related only to age, grade, number of children in the family and family communication in the white group and age and sex in the Indian.

Perhaps the homogeneity of seIf-concept between the two groups of reservation adolescents is attributable to a culture on the reservation which precludes any ethnic or socio-economic sub-culture of the reservation Indian. Extensive research into self-theory and self-concept correlates for a more predictable knowledge pertaining to the self-concept is needed.