JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH / May 2002
Umaña-Taylor et al. / LATINO ADOLESCENT SELF-ESTEEM
Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem
of Latino Adolescents:
Distinctions Among the Latino Populations
Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Marcelo Diversi
Utah State University
Mark A. Fine
University of Missouri–Columbia
This article reviews 21 empirical studies in which the relationship between self-esteem
and ethnic identity among Latino adolescents was examined. This analysis indicates that
for some conceptualizations of ethnic identity there has been a positive relationship
between ethnic identity and self-esteem, whereas with other conceptualizations the rela-
tionships between ethnic identity and self-esteemhave been inconsistent. The method-
ological limitations of the existing work are also examined. Despite the differences in
conceptualization and the methodological limitations, the existing research suggests a
positive relationship between degree of ethnic identification and self-esteemfor Latinos
who live in areas where their Latino group composes the majority of the Latino
population.
Latino populations in the United States are growing rapidly. Latinos are
the second-largest ethnic minority in the United States (Marger, 1997), and
projections are that by the year 2050, one out of every four Americans will be
Latino (Shinagawa & Jang, 1998). Due to the growing representation of Lati-
nos in the United States, researchers and practitioners will need more infor-
mation about these ethnic group members to be adequately prepared to
understand their development and psychological adjustment. The processes
by which Latinos developtheir self-concepts and the influences of racism,
discrimination, and stereotypes are essential to understanding Latinos.
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Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Adriana J. Umaña-Taylor, Department of Hu-
man and Community Development, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; e-mail:
umana@uiuc.edu.
Journal of Adolescen