Self-esteem among Jamaican children: Exploring the impact of skin color and rural/urban residence

This study investigates the extent to which two different models predict the relation of self-esteem to skin color and rural/urban residence among Jamaican children. To explain this relation, Crocker and Major's Self-protective hypothesis and Harter's Additive model were examined among 200 African–Caribbean children from rural (n = 85) and urban (n = 115) elementary schools in eastern Jamaica. Support was found for both of these models. Specifically, the Self-protective hypothesis predicted higher self-esteem among rural children and the Additive model predicted higher self-esteem among older children for whom self-identification and ideal self skin color were both White. Implications for Jamaican children are discussed followed by potential application to other children of African descent.