Re: anthro self-esteem studies?

Daniel Maltz (dmaltz@inmind.com)
3 Nov 1996 16:01:32 GMT

Katrina Harris (katrinah@mindspring.com) wrote:
: I am an undergraduate student of anthropology and I am taking an
: independent study course on research design. I am about to write a grant
: proposal to do a study on low self-esteem in adolescent girls. In my
: literature review, I have found only psychology and sociology sources.
: Does anyone out there know if there have been anthropological research
: done on this topic? Also, I am planning to get my PhD in a few years and
: I am trying to find a good school to go to--specifically in applied anthro
: relating to children and/or maternal welfare--anyone have any suggestions?

The concept of "self-esteem" is pretty much a product of
contemporary North American individualistic notions of "self" and
"identity", so it is not widely used in comparative
anthropological literature, but here is a short bibliography of
anthropological material that does use the concept.

Daniel Maltz (dmaltz@soulcage.inmind.com)
______________________________________________________


ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES OF SELF-ESTEEM

Barkow, Jerome H.
1975 Strategies for self-esteem and prestige in Maradi, Niger
Republic. _In_: Psychological anthropology. Thomas Rhys
Williams, ed. The Hague: Mouton, pp. 373-388.
1980 Prestige and self-esteem: A biosocial interpretation. _In_:
Dominance relations: An ethological view of human conflict
and social interaction. Donald R. Omark, F(red) F. Strayer,
& Daniel G. Freedman, eds. New York: Garland STPM Press, pp.

Chowning, [Martha] Ann
1982 Self-esteem and drinking in Kove, West New Britain. _In_:
Through a glass darkly: Beer and modernization in Papua New
Guinea [Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research
Monograph 18]. Mac Marshall, ed. Boroko, PNG: Institute of
Applied Social and Economic Research, pp. 365-378.

Howard, [Stuart] Alan
1974 Aspects of self-esteem among Hawaiian-Americans of the
parental generation. _In_: Youth, socialization, and mental
health [Mental Health Research in Asia and the Pacific, Vol.
3]. William P. Lebra, ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii
Press, pp. 87-95.

Lang, Norris G.
1991 Stigma, self-esteem, and depression: Psycho-social responses
to risk of AIDS. _Human Organization_ 50(1): 66-72.

Lefley, Harriet P. (psychiatrist)
1976 Acculturation, child-rearing, and self-esteem in two North
American Indian tribes. _Ethos: Journal of the Society for
Psychological Anthropology_ 4(3): 385-401.

Maxwell, Robert John & Philip Silverman
1970 Information and esteem: Cultural considerations in the
treatment of the aged. _The International Journal of Aging
and Human Development_ 1(4): 361-392.

Paine, Robert Patrick Barten
1989 High-wire culture: Comparing two agonistic systems of
self-esteem. _Man: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological
Institute_ 24(4): 657-672.

Wadel, Cato
1973 Now whose fault is that? The struggle for self-esteem in the
face of chronic unemployment. St. John's, Newfoundland:
Memorial University, Institute of Social and Economic
Research.

Witherspoon, Gary Jay
1981 Self-esteem and self-expression in Navajo weaving. _Plateau_
52(4): 28-32.