Social group membership and perceptions of the self in Northern Irish children

Abstract

Social disadvantage and minority group membership are believed to have an adverse effect on the development of the self-concept. However, the exact effects of such factors on children’s self-competence and self-esteem are still subject to debate, with some authors arguing that it is not until later in life that the adverse psychological effects of social disadvantage become apparent. This study therefore examined the relationship between gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and age on self-competence and self-esteem in childhood. Eight- to eleven-year-old children ( N = 689) completed the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985) and the results were analysed using MANOVA. Substantial gender differences in self-perceptions across several domains, including global self-esteem, were evident. The analysis also indicated that children of lower SES and from the Roman Catholic (minority) community in Northern Ireland had significantly less positive self-perceptions than middle SES and Protestant (majority group) children in a range of domains. These differences, however, were generally only evidenced at ages 10 and 11. Discussion of these results highlights the influence of group memberships on children’s social development, particularly at the preadolescent stage, and points to the need to consider the combined effects of psychosocial identities and socioeconomic background on the development of self-perceptions.