Title of Research Project

The Effects of Racial/Ethnic and Gender Discrimination on College Students' Self-Esteem

Name

Elizabeth Silva, University of San FranciscoFollow
Colin Silverthorne PhD, University of San FranciscoFollow

Major

Psychology; Politics

Research Abstract

College-aged participants (N=239, 57 men and 182 women) completed two measures, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale—assessing global self-esteem, and the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS)—assessing their perceptions of discrimination based on racial/ethnic stereotypes and/or gender stereotypes. The first hypothesis was that negative racial/ethnic discrimination would have a negative impact on self-esteem. The second hypothesis was that negative gender discrimination would negatively impact an individual’s self-esteem.

Results on the EDS showed that men had more experiences with perceived discrimination than women (t(239)=2.41, pF(4, 234) = 4.275, p = 0.01). A significant negative correlation was found between the two measures, (r = -0.141, n = 239, p = 0.05), supporting both hypotheses. As self-esteem increases, there are fewer incidences of perceived discrimination.

Faculty Mentor/Advisor

Colin Silverthorne

Course

Honors in Psychology Program (Colin Silverthorne)