The impact of racial identity on self-esteem and academic achievement among African American adolescent female students

Abstract

Utilizing a critical race theory perspective, I investigated how racial identity relates to self- esteem and academic achievement. The sample consisted of 100 African American female adolescents (age 13-17) who lived mostly in the Western regions of the United States. The Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Teen and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were administered to assess racial identity profiles and levels of self-esteem. Grade point averages were collected via self-report as a means of capturing academic achievement. The data were analyzed using cluster analysis with a follow-up MANOVA. The cluster analysis using the combination of hierarchical and non- hierarchical methods resulted in a viable three-cluster solution.The first cluster represented girls who held high humanist and low public regard beliefs (n =29). The second cluster group represented girls who scored higher on the centrality subscale and the nationalist sub-dimension (n = 31). The third cluster consisted of girls who have high levels of public regard and low nationalist beliefs (n = 29). The MANOVA revealed no significant relationship between the participants’ racial identity clusters and grade point average and their levels of self-esteem. The results of this study provide further understanding and evidence of multidimensionality in racial identity among female African American teenage students.