Influence of social and family contexts on self-esteem of Latino youth

The study presented here examines the influence of social and family contexts on the self-esteem of Mexican (n = 287), Mexican American (n = 558), and Puerto Rican (n = 212) children. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, tests of a longitudinal path model show significant social and family effects on the cognitive stimulation and emotional support in the home environment and on academic self-esteem. However, the home environment was not predictive of child global self-esteem and thus did not support the proposed mediator hypothesis. These results indicate that socioeconomic status and family structure influence the presence of a cognitively stimulating and emotionally supportive home environment, but these aspects of the home environment do not influence the development of child self-worth and scholastic self-perception.