The Self Image of Chinese—American Adolescents: a Cross—Cultural Comparison

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the self-concept of Chinese-American adolescents and then to compare them with standard samples of normal United States and Chinese adolescents. The instrument used to measure self-concept was the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ). As expected, the Chinese-American adolescent group very closely resembled the normal United States adolescent group and differed markedly from the normal Chinese adolescent group. The few areas in which the Chinese-American group significantly differed from their American peers, such as on the Sexual Attitudes Scale, appeared to be in a direction that was influenced by Chinese culture. The poorer adjustment shown on the Body and Self-Image scale by the Chinese-American adolescents points to the effect of racial stereotyping in the United States.