The Impact of Televised Stereotypes on the State Self-Esteem of Latino/a Emerging Adults: The Moderating Role of Ethnic–Racial Identity

Abstract

We investigated how stereotypical portrayals of Latino/a characters on television influence Latino/a emerging adults’ ( N = 136; ages 18–25) state self-esteem (i.e., social, appearance, and performance) while examining the moderating role of ethnic–racial identity (i.e., centrality). Latino/as from across the United States were randomly sorted into one of two conditions (exposure to stereotypes or not) and completed measures of ethnic–racial identity and state self-esteem. When not exposed to stereotypes, participants with higher ethnic–racial identity had higher social self-esteem. However, when exposed to stereotypes, Latino/a participants with higher ethnic–racial identity had significantly lower social self-esteem. This finding matches previous research on the role of social identity in stereotype threat, which found that those who more strongly identified with a stereotyped group were more negatively impacted by stereotypes of that group. However, in situations without stereotypes present, stronger ethnic–racial identity is connected to well-being.