Gender Differences in Self-Concept Among a Sample of Students of the United States International University in Africa

Abstract

Background: Self-concept is a multifaceted belief system where self-evaluation is carried out in relation to one’s environment. Various research studies have found that self-concept has an impact on the psychological, physical and social wellbeing of a person. There is a dearth of studies on the relationship between self-concept and gender among students in private universities in Kenya. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between gender and self-concept among a sample of United States International University-Africa (USIU-A) students. Methods: The study was conducted in a sample of students studying either the psychology of personality or abnormal psychology courses. The sample size (n) for the current study is 57: which is 0.87% of the student population in the USIU-A. The methodology used in this study is the Tennessee Self-concept Scale (TSCS) consisting of 82 statements. The regression analysis of the six dimensions of selfconcept and gender was done using SPSS® (Version 23). Results: The current study found that personal self-concept variables explained 46.8% of the variations of overall self-concept. A regression between overall selfconcept rating and gender revealed that overall self-concept increases by 6.381% as gender changes from female to male. Conclusion: Male participants were found to have a higher overall self-concept than female participants. Among the sexes the highly suggested ways of increasing self-concept were through socialization, reading and self-awareness.