Parents’ Ethnic Socialization Practices in Shaping Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem of Children in Malaysia (Published)
Parents’ Ethnic Socialization practices play important role in shaping their children’s ethnic identity and is also important for other developmental and behavioral outcomes such as self-esteem, and academic achievement. The present study examined the role of parents’ ethnic socialization practices in shaping ethnic identity and self-esteem of children. A total of 342 children (ages ranging from 10-14 years old) participated in the present study. The modified version of Multi group Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), The Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM) and The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) were used in this study. The results showed that: i) parents’ ethnic socialization practices were strong predictor of ethnic identity development and self-esteem of the children; iii) the children with a greater ethnic identity exploration exhibited higher self-esteem. The results of this study showed the implications for parents’ ethnic socialization practices in successful multi ethnic families for better child development outcomes.
Keywords: Ethnic Identity development, Parents’ Ethnic Socialization Practices, children, self-esteem