Ethnic Identity and Self-esteem: an Exploratory Longitudinal Study

Recent models of ethnic identity formation in minority youth suggest a progression over time from an unexamined or diffuse stage to an achieved ethnic identity. To examine changes with age in ethnic identity and self-esteem, eighteen adolescents from three ethnic groups (Asian American, Black, and Hispanic) were assessed at age 16 and three years later. Results of this exploratory study showed a significant change to higher stages of ethnic identity over the three-year period. Self-esteem and ethnic identity were significantly related to each other at each time period and across the three-year time span.