Racial bias and self-esteem of Asian and Asian-American children

The study examined racial bias and the self-esteem of Asian and Asian-American children in the United States. Intercorrelations between the children's racial bias as measured by the PRAM II and the self-esteem as measured by the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children were elucidated. Thirty two,children from two different age groups were participated: 4 and 5 year-olds and 6 and 7 year-olds. It was found that the majority (62.5%) of the children had a pro-White/anti-Asian racial bias.A shift was reported from the pro-White/anti-Asian bias to the pro-Asian/anti-White or to being unbiased with age. The Asian and Asian-American children had high self-esteem. The significant group difference was found only in cognitive competence. In both age groups, a negative correlation was found between racial bias and the self-esteem in peer acceptance. Concern about cultural inappropriateness of the items in the self-esteem measure was discussed. CHAPTER