Interplay between social-structural conditions and self-esteem: A multi-level analysis among Blacks, Latinos and Asians

There is evidence of the link between self-esteem and mental health and health behaviors. Positive thinking about oneself can moderate the effects of lifetime stressors. Psychosocial theories have postulated a dynamic interplay between social-structural conditions and self-esteem. Yet most studies on self-esteem have focused on intra- and interpersonal-processes. This study tested associations between a number of structural factors and self-esteem among Blacks, Latinos and Asians using data from the Multi-City Survey on Urban Inequality merged with Census-derived measures of segregation and neighborhood context. In models stratified by race/ethnicity, using three-level (individuals-neighborhoods-counties) hierarchical linear regressions in HLM, Blacks living in areas where Whites held less negative Black stereotypes' beliefs had significantly higher scores on self-esteem (B=0.966; SE=0.242; p<0.01) in crude models. This association remained significant after adjusting for covariates, neighborhood affluence, neighborhood stability, and individual's family income and perceived neighborhood's quality. Latinos living in higher segregated areas (Multi-group Entropy -Theil's H index) had significantly lower scores on self-esteem (B=-0.016; SE=0.007; p<0.05) in crude models and after adjusting for covariates, neighborhood stability, neighborhood affluence, perceived neighborhood, skin color, and attendance to religious services. Asians living in higher segregated areas (White-Asian Isolation Index) had significantly lower scores on self-esteem (B=-0.033; SE=0.006; p<0.0001) in crude models and after adjusting for covariates. This association was mediated by neighborhood's proportion of Asian's linguistic isolation. Understanding how social-structural conditions influences self-esteem requires multi-level methods and the inclusion of various racial/ethnic groups to understand and contrast the unique ways in which these structures operate at the individual level