Children's self-esteem and their perceptions of prejudice, social satisfaction and status.
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Date
1998
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Abstract
The recent social and political changes in South Africa are having a profound effect on social
relations in South Africa, and it seems appropriate to study the attitudes of children and their
perceptions of racial and gender relations. This study attempts to explore self-esteem,
perceptions of social satisfaction, status and prejudice in relation to race and gender.
The sample consists of 444 Black and White children aged 12/13 years and 14/15 years. The
children were from schools in an urban area (Pietermaritzburg) in Kwa-Zulu, Natal. Three
instruments were administered: The Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory, the Social Status
Technique and the Social Distance Scale.
A review of theoretical considerations of prejudice, self-esteem and social identity theory is
provided. Statistical analysis indicated the following findings: there is no difference in
assessed self-esteem between the races although boys exhibited a more positive self-esteem
than girls. Black children showed more positive levels of self-esteem on the academic and
parent-related sub-scales, while White children showed a more positive social self-esteem.
With regard to social satisfaction and preference, all children identified Whites as being the
most satisfied and having the most status. With the exception of Black boys, all children
perceive that girls have more satisfaction and status than boys. There is a clear difference
between boys and girls with girls showing a strong bias towards their own gender in the
preference and satisfaction questions but not on the identification question. In relation to
identification, children showed a clear own-group identification. On the Social Distance
Scale, Black children were more prejudiced than White children, and were most prejudiced
towards the Afrikaans speaking group. Boys also were more prejudiced than girls.
The findings are discussed in relation to the theoretical perspectives and to previous findings.
A critique of the study and recommendations for future research are included.
Description
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.
Keywords
Self-esteem in children., Race awareness in children., Social perception in children., Prejudices in children., Theses--Psychology.