Factors Underlying Contextual Variations in the Structure of the Self: Differences Related to <scp>SES</scp>, Gender, Culture, and “Majority/Nonmajority” Status During Early Adolescence

Abstract

Multilevel modeling was used to examine contextual variations in the structure of the “self” in a sample of 918 lower‐ and upper‐middle class early adolescents ( M age = 10.37 years, SD = 1.19) from a “majority” cultural context (i.e., B arranquilla in the C aribbean region of C olombia) and a “nonmajority” context (i.e., M ontréal, Q uébec, C anada). It was expected that the associations between measures of the self‐concept (i.e., indices of self‐perceived competence) and a measure of general self‐worth would differ in majority and nonmajority contexts and would vary as a function of socioeconomic status, the relative emphasis placed on individualism and collectivism and gender. Findings indicate that contextual factors moderated the extent to which self‐worth is associated with components of early adolescents' self‐concept.