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

Social disadvantage and minority group membership are believed to have adverse effect on the development of the self-concept... This study ... 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 ... 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 age 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-perception. (DIPF/orig.).