Body Size and Social Self-Image among Adolescent AfricanAmer.docx

Body Size and Social Self-Image among Adolescent African
American Girls: The Moderating Influence of Family Racial
Socialization
Ellen M. Granberg,
Department of Sociology & Anthropology 132 Brackett Hall
Clemson University Clemson SC 29634
864-656-3812 [email protected]
Leslie Gordon Simons, and
Department of Child and Family Development 204 403 Sanford
Drive University of Georgia Athens
GA 30602 [email protected]
Ronald L. Simons
Department of Sociology 116 Baldwin Hall University of
Georgia Athens GA 30602 706-542-3232
[email protected]
Abstract
Social psychologists have amassed a large body of work
demonstrating that overweight African
American adolescent girls have generally positive self-images,
particularly when compared with
overweight females from other racial and ethnic groups. Some
scholars have proposed that elements
of African American social experience may contribute to the
maintenance of these positive self-
views. In this paper, we evaluate these arguments using data
drawn from a panel study of socio-
economically diverse African American adolescent girls living
in Iowa and Georgia. We analyze the
relationship between body size and social self-image over three
waves of data, starting when the girls
were 10 years of age and concluding when they were

approximately 14. We find that heavier
respondents hold less positive social self-images but also find
that being raised in a family that
practices racial socialization moderates this relationship.
Keywords
obesity; adolescence; racial socialization
The relationship between body weight and self-image among
African American adolescent
girls has been the topic of considerable study (Ge, Elder,
Regnerus, & Cox, 2001; Lovejoy,
2001; Smolak & Levine, 2001). Overall, the results of this work
show that, while African
American girls are more likely to be overweight than females of
other racial groups, they also
feel good about their bodies and exhibit a relatively weak
association between body size and
outcomes such as self-esteem, self-evaluation, and
psychological health (Berkowitz &
Stunkard, 2002; Neumark-Sztainer, Story, Hannan, & Croll,
2002). These patterns have led
scholars to suggest that elements of African American life may
serve a protective function,
limiting the negative influence of body size on self-image
(Roberts, Cash, Feingold, & Johnson,
2006). In this paper, we explore these arguments by assessing
the association between body
size and social self-image within a sample of adolescent African
American girls. We then
Direct all correspondence to Dr. Ellen Granberg, Department of
Sociology & Anthropology, 132 Brackett Hall, Clemson
University,
Clemson SC 29634 ([email protected])..

NIH Public Access
Author Manuscript
Youth Soc. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010
December 1.
Published in final edited form as:
Youth Soc. 2009 December 1; 41(2): 256–277.
doi:10.1177/0044118X09338505.
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examine elements of African American social experience that
we hypothesize may be the
source of this protection.
The Meaning of Body Size among Adolescent African American
Girls
Adolescence is a time when the self-concept evolves to more
fully incorporate the world and
its expectations (Rosenberg, 1986). Concerns with popularity,
attractiveness, and social status
rise dramatically as does anxiety about the perceptions and
evaluations of others (Seiffge-
Krenke, 2003). During this developmental phase possessing a
stigmatized physical
characteristic, such as being overweight, can make both self and
social acceptance even more
challenging and contribute to the development of a negative
self-image (French, Story, & Perry,
1995; Phillips & Hill, 1998; Smolak & Levine, 2001).
Given the importance adolescents place on the positive regard
of others as well as the degree
of stigma attached to obesity in the culture at large (Brownell,
Puhl, Schwartz, & Rudd,
2005), it is not surprising that body size influences social self-
images among adolescent girls.
Further, though there is ample evidence suggesting African
American girls are less vulnerable
to these pressures (Hebl & Heatherton, 1998; Nichter, 2000),

this should not be taken to mean
they are immune from the psycho-social impact of weight
stigma or unconcerned about the
aesthetic and health consequences of weight gain (Granberg,
Simons, Gibbons, & Melby,
2008; Siegel, 2002). Rather, the relative protection enjoyed by
African American girls is
detectable primarily because they are so often compared to girls
from other racial groups,
especially Caucasians, where concerns with body size are more
salient (Beauboeuf-Lafontant,
2003). Research focused specifically on African Americans
suggests that while they hold more
moderate attitudes about weight than those found among
European Americans, they still view
obesity as a negative characteristic (Flynn & Fitzgibbon, 1996;
Kumanyika, Wilson, &
Guilford-Davenport, 1993; Paxton, Eisenberg, & Neumark-
Sztainer, 2006). For these reasons,
our expectation is that when heavier adolescent African
American girls are compared with
thinner girls who are also African American, heavier girls will
show a deficit in social self-
image. Also, in line with developmental theories of self and
body image, we expect this
relationship to become stronger as respondents enter mid-
adolescence.
Exploring the Body Size Paradox: Why African American Girls
are Less
Concerned with Weight
While we anticipate that weight will be relevant to the self-
images of adolescent African
American girls, we also propose factors that may contribute to
the differential protection they

enjoy relative to other groups (Ge et al., 2001; Molloy &
Herzberger, 1998). Specifically, we
hypothesize that elements of African American social life
provide resources upon which
African American girls may draw when assessing their physical
size and that, when available,
these resources can buffer the impact of broader social
standards regarding attractive body size.
This, we argue, contributes to the relative protection they
experience when compared to girls
from other racial groups.
Interest in the notion that elements of social experience could
protect the self-esteem of African
American children gained ground with Morris Rosenberg's 1971
study of self-esteem
(Rosenberg & Simmons, 1971). In explaining the finding
(surprising at the time) that black
children did not demonstrate evidence of reduced self-esteem,
Rosenberg and Simmons cited
the effect of what they termed a “consonant social context:” an
environment in which social
feedback and proximal social comparisons emphasize positive
aspects of one's group
membership while limiting exposure to negative aspects (1971).
Among African American
children, they argued, growing in such a context reduced
exposure to bigotry and racial
Granberg et al. Page 2
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discrimination which in turn promoted positive self-esteem even
among children living in
highly disadvantaged circumstances.

Researchers studying the association between body size and
self-image have proceeded along
a similar path arguing that elements of African American social
and cultural life may protect
girls' self-images by reducing exposure to negative feedback
and promoting positive social
comparisons (Root, 1990). This expands the resources upon
which African American girls can
draw to make positive evaluations of their weight and
appearance providing a differential
protection not as readily available to girls in other racial groups
(Halpern, King, Oslak, & Udry,
2005; Paxton et al., 2006). In this paper, we hypothesize two
resources that may be particularly
important for this process: the structural availability of
comparison others who are also African
American and the practice of cultural education (i.e., racial
socialization) among the families
of African American teenagers.
We expect these factors to influence the evaluations African
American girls make about their
bodies by shaping the sources girls use to judge their physical
size. For example, research
examining sources of body dissatisfaction indicate that social
comparisons are one of the
primary mechanisms through which adolescent girls assess their
bodies (Evans & McConnell,
2003; Thompson, Coovert, & Stormer, 1999). Downward
comparisons, in which a girl judges
herself smaller than those around her, typically produce greater
body esteem and result in more
positive self-evaluations (Morrison, Kalin, & Morrison, 2004).
African American women are,
on average, heavier than their peers from any other major racial
group and also show greater

variation in body size (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2002). This
would suggest that when African-
American adolescents compare their body sizes with women
from within their own racial
group, they are more likely to perceive a favorable (i.e.,
downward) social comparison than
they would if comparing themselves to women who are not
African American. Thus, the
availability of comparison others who are also African
American may improve access to self-
enhancing social feedback.
The protective effect of African American racial group
membership may also develop by
facilitating access to cultural resources that enhance
adolescents' self-images – again giving
teens the ability to buffer the impact of body size status. We
propose that racial socialization,
the practice of educating children about the meaning, history,
and significance of being African
American (Caughy, O'Campo, Randolph, & Nickerson, 2002;
Hughes, 2003) may have this
effect. Racial socialization has been linked to a number of
positive psycho-social outcomes
including higher self-esteem and lower rates of psychological
stress (Bynum, Burton, & Best,
2007; Hughes et al., 2006). It also produces two effects that
suggest it may contribute to more
positive evaluations of body size: bi-culturalism and positive
feelings about one's ethnic group
(Brega & Coleman, 1999; Demo & Hughes, 1990; Hughes et al.,
2006; McHale et al., 2006).
A bicultural orientation may reduce the impact of mainstream
body size standards by
facilitating recognition of the biases inherent in western, white

standards of beauty (Lovejoy,
2001). This may be part of what allows African American
women and girls to distinguish their
own body evaluations from those standards (Evans &
McConnell, 2003; Poran, 2002).
Similarly, positive feelings about one's own ethnic group are
likely to increase the salience and
appeal of the in-group standard. Such recognitions may also
reduce the influence of social
comparisons made with non-African American others. If racial
socialization has the effect we
hypothesize, then girls growing up in families where it is
practiced frequently should show a
weaker relationship between body size and social self-images
than do girls growing up in
families where racial socialization is not a focus.
Our intent with this analysis is to deepen understandings of the
relationship between body and
self-image among adolescent African American girls. Our first
goal is to assess the relative
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importance of body size to self-image as these girls move
through adolescence. Second, we
test the idea that growing up within a “consonant social
context” may protect girls, to some
degree, from negative feedback about their bodies. Specifically,
we hypothesize two forms of
this consonant social context: the structural availability of
comparison others who are also
African American and the practice of cultural education (i.e.,
racial socialization) within
respondents' families. In both instances, we expect that these

factors will have a moderating
effect, reducing the relationship between body size and social
self-image.
METHODS
Sample
The data for this analysis are drawn from waves one through
three of the Family and
Community Health Study (FACHS), a multi-site study of the
emotional and social health and
development of African American pre-teens and adolescents.
The complete FACHS dataset
consists of approximately 900 African American families living
in Georgia and Iowa. The
FACHS sample is unique among data sets focusing on African
Americans because it was
designed to identify contributors to African American children's
development in families living
outside the urban inner city core and from a wide range of
socioeconomic strata. Wave 1 of
FACHS was collected during 1997 when target respondents
were between 10 and 11 years of
age; Wave 2 took place in 1999 when target children were
between 12 and 13. Wave 3 data
collection occurred in 2001 when the target children were aged
14 to 15. Details regarding the
FACHS sampling strategy and data collections procedures can
be found in Simons et al.,
(2002).
In the present analysis we use only the female respondents from
the FACHS sample.
Approximately 400 girls participated in the FACHS data
collection at wave 1; of these, 320
completed waves 2 and 3. Missing data from the body size

measures (explained further below)
and other scales reduced the final sample to 256. We used t-
tests to examine whether
respondents included in the sample differed from those excluded
on any of the dependent or
independent variables and found no significant differences.
Measures
Social Self-Image—Our primary research focus is on the
association between body size and
social self-image among adolescent girls. We measured social
self-image using a five-item
index capturing social characteristics that are meaningful to
adolescents and that have been
linked to behavior and attitudes regarding smoking, alcohol use,
diet, and exercise (Gerrard,
Gibbons, Stock, Vande Lune, & Cleveland, 2005; Gibbons &
Gerrard, 1995, 1997; Simons et
al., 2002). The items were reverse coded as necessary so that a
high response indicated a more
positive social self-image. Items were summed and the
Chronbach's alpha for this scale was
approximately .65 at both waves two and three.
Body Size Measures—The FACHS measures “visible body size”
on a nine-point scale
ranging from significantly underweight (1) to morbidly obese
(9). These ratings were made
from videotapes of the FACHS target children recorded during
each of the first two waves of
data collection. We elected to use visual ratings of body size
rather than clinical measures such
as BMI because our theoretical interest is in the implications of
body weight for social
comparisons and social self-images. Thus, a visual assessment
of obesity was more a more

valid measure than one drawn from BMI-for-age growth charts
(National Center for Health
Statistics, 2000). Finally, ratings of body size made from
videotapes have been shown to be a
valid representation of weight status (Cardinal, Kaciroti, &
Lumeng, 2006).
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Observer ratings were based on the Figure Rating Scale (FRS:
Stunkard, Sorenson, &
Schulsinger, 1983) as well as assessments of particular body
parts (e.g., upper arm size, etc.).
Details regarding the procedures used to arrive at target body
size ratings, and to ensure
reliability across videotape raters, can be found in Granberg,
Simons, Gibbons, & Melby
(2008). Body size ratings from wave 1 videotapes correlated
significantly with those from wave
2 (r=.516**). The distribution of body size ratings for waves 1
and 2 are reported in table 1.1
We used the observers' ratings to identify those respondents
whose body sizes could be
considered “visibly obese” during wave 2 scoring. Previous
validity studies using the FRS
have identified body size ratings of 7, 8, and 9 as “visibly
obese” (Bulik et al., 2001).
Approximately 12 percent of the FACHS sample fell into this
category. We then looked at
wave 1 classifications of body size. We set the visible obesity
cut off for wave 1 at 6 (rather
than 7) because CDC growth charts set clinical obesity cutoffs2
for 10 year olds at
approximately 2.5 BMI points lower than those applied to 12

year olds (for example, a 10 year
old is classified as obese with a BMI of 23, a 12 year old is
classified as obese with a BMI
slightly above of 25.2) leading us to feel a similar adjustment
was appropriate on this measure
(Centers for Disease Control, 2005).
Respondents whose body size ratings were scored at 6 or higher
in wave one and at 7 or higher
in wave two were coded “1” for the measure “large body size,”
all other respondents were
coded “0”. Requiring that respondents be evaluated as “large
body size” at both waves 1 and
2 ensured that this was a long-term physical state and lessened
the likelihood that a respondents'
elevated body size was the result of puberty alone.
In approximately 18 cases, data for this measure were missing
because tapes could not be found
or respondents were not sufficiently visible for observers to
reliably assess body size. In these
cases, we replaced body size scores missing from wave 2 with
the value from wave 1, if
available. (We made no replacements for cases where body size
was missing in wave 1.) We
felt comfortable making this replacement because girls tend to
get heavier as they enter
adolescence and so replacing missing wave 2 scores with those
from wave 1 would tend to
understate, rather than overstate, the number of girls who were
of large body size, resulting in
a more conservative test of our hypotheses. After this coding
was complete, 35 girls were coded
as “large body size.”
Family Racial Socialization—The dominant arguments

hypothesizing that racial
socialization moderates the relationship between weight and
self-conception has focused on
the importance of being aware of one's ethnic culture and
history (Lovejoy, 2001). We
measured this aspect of racial socialization using a scale based
upon work by Diane Hughes
(Hughes, 2003; Hughes & Chen, 1997) which asks respondents
to report on five family
activities (e.g., museum visits) that promote knowledge
regarding the culture and meaning of
being African American. Each item's responses ranged from
“Never” (1) to “10 or more
times” (5). The items were summed and Chronbach's alpha for
the scale was .84.
Availability of African American Comparison Others—We
measured the availability
of comparison others using the percentage of African-
Americans living in respondents' Block
Group (BG). Block groups are clusters of contiguous residential
blocks analogous to a
1Questions have been raised as to the suitability of FRS for use
with non-Caucasian populations (Patt, Lane, Finney, Yanek, &
Becker,
2002; Pulvers et al., 2004) and, with this concern in mind, we
did examine a number of other rating systems. We chose the
FRS because
of the extensive body of research validating its effectiveness as
a measure of visible obesity in diverse populations (including
African
Americans) and well as evidence demonstrating its validity for
use with videotaped data (Bhuiyan, Gustat, Srinivasan, &
Berenson,
2003; Cardinal et al., 2006; Patt et al., 2002).

2CDC Growth Charts do not use the term “obesity” when
classifying children's weight; however a BMI-for-age at the
95th percentile or
higher is typically considered “obese”.
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respondents' neighborhood (Bureau of the Census, 1994). In
rural areas where housing does
not always follow a block design, block groups are identified
based upon a combination of
factors including the extent and density of existing residential
housing, natural and manmade
boundaries (e.g., lakes, rivers, thorough fares), and local land
survey information. Starting with
the 1990 census, local authorities also provided input so that
rural block groups accurately
captured local residential patterns.
When the FACHS sample was originally identified, African
Americans composed at least 20%
of the residents in each BG from which respondents were
recruited. Over time, however, some
FACHS families have moved, increasing variation in the
sample. As of wave 3, the proportion
of African Americans living in respondents' BGs ranged from
less than 1% to over 90% (Mean
26%; s.d. 28%).
Control Variables
Quality of Parenting—We control for quality of parenting in
this analysis because parents
who engage in racial socialization tend to be involved with and
attentive towards their children
in other ways (Caughy et al., 2002; Simons, Chao, Conger, &

Elder, 2001) and effective racial
socialization requires calling upon many of the skills that also
make for good parenting. In
addition, both constructs are associated with better psychosocial
competence in children,
potentially improving social self-image (Constantine &
Blackmon, 2002; Fischer & Shaw,
1999; Maccoby, Martin, & Mussen, 1983). The items for the
parenting scales were adapted
from instruments developed for the Iowa Youth and Families
Project (IYFP: Conger et al.,
1992) and have been shown to have high validity and reliability
(Simons, 1996; Simons et al.,
2001; Simons, Johnson, Conger, & Elder, 1998). Coefficient
alpha for the target child's
instrument was approximately .90.
Family Social Class—Some researchers have suggested that
body standards are more
stringent among members of more affluent SES groups (Molloy
& Herzberger, 1998). In order
to ensure we were not confounding class-based associations
with our variables of interest, we
included family class status as a control. We measured class
status by ranking respondents
based on a combination of the primary caregiver's work status
and the total household income
(Billingsley, 1992). The measure generates five class groups:
(1) nonworking poor, (2) working
poor (3) working non-poor, (4) middle class, (5) upper class.
Class status measures from waves
2 and 3 were correlated at .9. As a result, we used the wave 2
measure in all analyses.
Opposite Sex Relations—Adolescence is a period when
relationships with the opposite

sex take on heightened salience and are viewed as particularly
relevant for status within one's
peer group (Seiffge-Krenke, 2003). In order to account for the
possibility that the relationship
between body size and social self-image was due only to
perceptions of romantic success, we
included a control for the degree to which respondents saw
themselves as successful at “making
and keeping friends of the opposite sex”.3 Respondents
evaluated themselves on a scale of 1
to 3 where 1 corresponded to “not well” and 3 corresponded to
“very well.”
Objective Social Skill—The stigma associated with obesity may
limit the opportunities
overweight people have to develop effective social skills
(Miller, Rothblum, Barbour, Brand,
& Felicio, 1990). In order to account for this association, we
included primary caregivers'
assessments of respondents' social abilities. This measure is a
four-item scale assessing skills
such as working well in a group. Responses to these items
ranged from 1 to 3, with 3
3It would have been preferable to use a question that did not
assume an exclusively heterosexual orientation. However, the
data do not
include a comparable question for respondents who are gay or
lesbian. In this analysis, a very small number of respondents
(N=5) identified
as “mostly homosexual” or “homosexual”. Due to the small
number, we felt the benefits of controlling for this aspect of
adolescent
interactions justified the use of the question.

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corresponding to the most socially skillful evaluation. PC's
answers to these questions were
standardized and summed and the Chronbach's alpha for the
scale exceeded .8.
Academic Skill—As with social skill, self-image in domains
such as intelligence may reflect
concrete information, such as grade point averages (Felson,
1985) and some studies have
suggested overweight girls do better in school (Pesa, Syre, &
Jones, 2000). To account for
these associations, we controlled for the primary caregivers'
assessment of respondents' ability
to learn math, science, reading, social studies, and computers.
PCs rated each academic subject
on a scale from 1 to 3, with 3 corresponding to high ability. The
responses were summed to
create the academic skill scale; reliability on this scale also
exceeded .8.
Analysis
We used ordinary least squares regression to assess the
multivariate relationship between body
size and social self-image and to test our moderation arguments.
Due to the block group
sampling strategy employed for this project, however, we were
not able to assume compliance
with the assumption of independent observations. In order to
correct for this, we employed the
“cluster” option available within the statistical program Stata
(StataCorp, 2003). This option
produces robust standard errors, which correct for correlations
due to block group sampling.

RESULTS
Bivariate Analysis
The correlation coefficients, uncentered means, and standard
deviations for all measures used
in this analysis are shown in Table 2. Bivariate correlations
show that being of large body size
is not related to social self-image at wave 2 when the
respondents were approximately 12 to
13 years of age. However, large body size is related to this
measure at wave 3, when respondents
were about 15 years old. Racial socialization and percentage of
African-Americans in the
neighborhood are both positively related to our wave 3 outcome
but only racial socialization
is related to our independent variable. Quality of parenting, at
both waves, is correlated with
racial socialization as well as with social self-image.
Surprisingly, family social class is
significantly and positively associated with body size; however,
it shows only a marginal
association with the outcome measure.
Our first research question asked whether the association
between weight and social self-image
became stronger as girls entered adolescence. In order to
explore this issue, we regressed our
dependent variable on large body size while controlling for
quality of parenting and class status.
This regression was first run using wave 2 and then repeated
using wave 3 assessments.4 All
the hypotheses evaluated in this analysis were directional;
consequently we report one-tailed
results in all of our tests of significance. The results of these
regressions are shown in Table 3.
Model 1 shows that being of large body size has no significant

association with respondents'
evaluations of their social attributes at wave 2 when they are
roughly 12 to 13 years of age.
However, model 2 indicates that there is a small but significant
negative association between
large body size and social self-image at wave 3 when the
respondents averaged 14 to 15 years
of age. Further, model 3 shows that large body size significantly
predicts wave 3 assessments
after we control for social self-image assessed at wave 2. This
suggests that girls who have had
a large body size since at least age 10 experience a decline in
social self-image as they move
into adolescence. This pattern supports our hypothesis that
being of large body size becomes
4In separate regressions we examined whether pubertal
development might influence the relationship between body size
and self-image.
We found pubertal status was associated with social self-image
but the relationship between body size and our outcome was
unaffected.
For the sake of parsimony these models are not shown.
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relevant for self-image as girls move into their teenage years.
Once the control for social self-
image at wave 2 is included, family class status also becomes
significant.
Our second hypothesis was that experiences that provided a
“consonant social context” with
respect to racial group membership would reduce the impact of
large body size on social self-

image. We tested this by examining the extent to which our
measure of family racial
socialization and of the percentage of African Americans in
respondents' neighborhoods
moderated the effect of a large body size on social self-image at
wave 3; the results are shown
in Table 4. Model 1 shows the results of adding our additional
control measures to the regression
equation estimations shown in Table 3 (Model 2) and indicates
that adolescents who see
themselves as able to relate successfully to members of the
opposite sex also have more positive
social self-images. There is also an association between parental
evaluations of respondent
social skills and targets' social self-image. Parents' evaluations
of targets' academic abilities,
however, showed no association. Also, the association between
large body size and social self-
image remained significant after the inclusion of these added
controls. Table 4, Model 2 shows
the main effect of our two proposed moderators. In Model 2,
only racial socialization was
associated with respondents' social self-image; the results show
that racial socialization is
positively related to social self-image but large body size
continues to show a negative
association.
Model 3 shows the result of adding the multiplicative
interaction term formed by centering and
multiplying large body size by family racial socialization. This
interaction term is positive and
statistically significant, consistent with our moderation
hypothesis. We graphed this interaction
using a web-based statistical application (Dawson, 2006); the
result is displayed in Figure 1.

Consistent with our hypothesis, the figure shows that, in homes
where racial socialization is
frequent, there is little difference between the perceived social
attributes of girls with large
bodies versus those who are smaller.5 However, in homes where
racial socialization is less
frequent, heavier girls showed less positive social self-image.
The significant interaction term suggests that elements of social
context, in this case racial
socialization practices in the home, are ameliorating the effect
of large body size on self-image.
In order to confirm this, we tested whether the drop in the
magnitude of the large body size
coefficient reached statistical significance. Using techniques
described by Paternoster et al.
(Paternoster, Brame, Mazerolle, & Piquero, 1998) we compared
the size of the large body size
coefficients for target respondents who reported racial
socialization frequency that was above
the mean to those reporting racial socialization frequencies
below the mean. The results (z=
−2.41, p<.05 – two tailed) suggest that active racial
socialization within the home does lessen
the influence of a large body size on social self-image.
As a further test of the influence of a “consonant social context”
we tested our second
hypothesized moderator, percent of African Americans living in
respondents' residential block
group area, by centering and multiplying large body size by this
measure. The result for the
effect of this moderator alone is shown in Model 4. As with
racial socialization, the coefficient
is positive and significant. A graph (not shown) of the
interaction showed a similar pattern to

that found with the effect of racial socialization; among girls
living in neighborhoods where
the percentage of African-American residents is relatively high
(i.e., above the mean), there is
little difference between the social self-image of larger versus
smaller adolescent girls In
contrast, among girls living in neighborhoods where the
percentage of African-Americans is
lower, larger girls are more likely to report a less positive social
self-image when compared to
smaller girls. As with racial socialization, we tested for the
equality of the large body size
5Although the line representing respondents whose families
engage in high rates of racial socialization appears to trend
upward, the
difference between the coefficients is not significant.
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coefficients between respondents who were above and below the
mean percentage of African
Americans resident in the neighborhood. This coefficient did
not achieve significance (z=
−1.25, NS). Model 5 shows the results when the two
interactions are estimated together; both
remain significant and increase slightly in magnitude.
DISCUSSION
This paper set out to explore the degree to which elements of
African American social life may
serve to insulate overweight African American teenage girls
from negative self judgments. In
addition, we considered whether early adolescence might be a
time when weight concerns were

particularly relevant for African-American girls and
consequently that the moderating effects
of racial group membership could be most important.
In order to explore these questions, we examined respondents'
evaluations of the degree to
which they believed they possessed a set of positive social
attributes and found that adolescent
girls whose body sizes had placed them in the category of
“visibly obese” from age 10 onward
appeared to be relatively unaffected by their weight status until
they reached mid-adolescence
when they became significantly less likely to identify with
positive labels such as “attractive,”
“cool,” and “popular.” Of potentially greater theoretical
interest, however, this analysis
suggests that both family racial socialization and the density of
African Americans in
respondents' neighborhoods are resources that reduce the
negative influence of being
overweight.
These finding are important for a number of reasons. The
seemingly paradoxical relationship
between weight and positive self-image among African
American females has been
documented in numerous studies. To our knowledge, however,
this is the first empirical
investigation of the role of social context as an explanation of
these patterns among African-
American adolescent girls. The results lend support to the work
of those who have located one
source of this paradox in experiences that stem from racial
group membership.
In considering these results, it is also important to acknowledge

the degree to which they
represent a double-edged sword. Given the well established
threats to physical health from
chronic obesity as well as its added risk for lifelong cumulative
disadvantage (Ferraro & Kelley-
Moore, 2003), the short term gains from improved self-image
during adolescence may
eventually be overtaken by obesity's long term costs. Still,
negative self-images can bring
serious consequences of their own, particularly with respect to
eating disorders and
psychological distress. Also, self-perceptions are highly
influential in guiding decisions to
improve health behavior. Understanding the mechanisms
through which positive, as well as
negative, self-images are sustained is important for
understanding the role of the self in health
maintenance. Thus, while we acknowledge the extent to which
these effects may represent
mixed blessings, we also feel they indicate areas where self and
social processes have the
potential to contribute to overall well-being.
These results also highlight the importance of family and
parental socialization in equipping
adolescents with assets to help them resist broader societal
messages that equate being thin
with goodness, intelligence, and competence (Bordo, 1993;
Torrens, 1998). Even during the
teen years, families remain an important agent of socialization
(Aquilino & Supple, 2001) and
these results emphasize the degree to which parents as well as
other adults may play a central
role in equipping their daughters to cope effectively with a core
developmental task. The
findings also join a growing literature that emphasizes ways that

African-American families
are a source of resilience for their children, particularly since
racial group membership can still
evoke discrimination (Natsuaki et al., 2007; Simons et al., 2001;
Simons et al., 2002).
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While these findings provide intriguing evidence of the sources
of this body-image paradox,
they are also limited in a number of ways. First, while our
moderation analysis was consistent
with our theoretical expectations, there are other factors that
may also play a role. For example,
the influence of racial socialization and living in a
neighborhood with a high proportion of
African Americans may have their effects because they
contribute to the development of a
more positive ethnic identity. Our data were not detailed enough
to be able to test this pathway
but future studies could explore this possibility.
Other limitations to these findings should also be noted. We
focused on “body size” as assessed
by others but did not have measures of respondents' perceptions
of their own weight.
Replicating these analyses using respondents' subjective
perceptions of their weight status as
well as with evaluations made during face to face interactions,
rather than via videotape, will
allow us to better specify the social pathways through which
these processes occur.
Finally, our measure of neighborhood racial composition used
census block groups as a proxy

for the availability of African American comparison others.
While block groups are designed
to capture actual residential areas as closely as possible, they
are a rough approximation of the
actual neighborhoods where respondents are spending time. It is
possible that the use of this
measure contributed to the relatively weak influence of
comparison others as a moderating
effect. Future research with more specific conceptualizations of
neighborhood will help clarify
the influence of comparison others on the association between
body size and self-image.
Finally, these results suggest that many African American
women live in a social context that
may reduce the influence of mainstream appearance standards
on their self-evaluations.
However, weight is also only one element of appearance; while
African American women
growing up in specific contexts appear to enjoy some protection
from the imposition of
Caucasian standards of slenderness, they may be more
vulnerable in other areas. For example,
feelings about skin tone, facial features, and hair texture may be
more susceptible to influence
from the majority group standard (Roberts et al., 2006). Thus,
another way in which this area
of research can be expanded is to consider whether social
context provides similar protection
with respect to other aspects of appearance.
The link between body size and self-image is an important issue
for adolescents of all racial
groups, not only African-Americans, and a substantial body of
research suggests that this
relationship does vary by racial and ethnic group membership.

Continued work in this area has
the potential to produce significant benefit. Substantively, it
will help to specify the conditions
under which weight affects the self-concept, providing guidance
to both researchers and policy
makers. Theoretically, it has the potential to advance
understandings of the pathways through
which social group membership characteristics, such as race,
influence self-image and overall
well-being.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental
Health (MH48165, MH62669). Additional funding
for this project was provided by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism, the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics
Experiment Station (Project #3320), the University of Georgia
and Clemson University.
Biographies
Ellen M. Granberg is Assistant Professor of Sociology at
Clemson University. Her research
interests focus on the intersection of social psychology and
mental and physical health. Her
recent research projects have examined the self and identity
impacts of sustaining weight loss
over time and the influence of children's weight status on the
quality of parenting they receive.
December 1.
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Leslie Gordon Simons is Associate Professor of Child and
Family Development at the
University of Georgia. Her research focuses on the predictors

and consequences of parenting
behaviors. She has published recently on the influence of
parenting on the intergenerational
transmission of problem behaviors including adolescent
delinquency, risky sex, and dating
violence.
Ronald L. Simons is Distinguished Research Professor of
Sociology and Research Fellow in
the Institute for Behavioral Research at the University of
Georgia. Much of his research has
focused on the manner in which family processes, peer
influences, and community context
combine to influence deviant behavior across the life course. He
has also completed work on
domestic violence and the effect of racial discrimination on
child development.
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Figure 1.
Interaction between Large Body Size and Family Racial
Socialization
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Table 1
Frequencies and Descriptive Statistics for Body Size Ratings

Wave 1 Wave 2
Size Rank N % N %
1 2 .8 1 .4
2 21 8.2 9 3.8
3 89 34.8 60 25.2
4 66 25.8 82 34.5
5 43 16.8 46 19.3
6 12 4.7 8 3.4
7 12 4.7 20 8.4
8 9 3.5 11 4.6
9 2 .8 1 .4
Total 256 100.0 238 100.0
Mean 4.05 4.38
s.d. 1.51 1.50
December 1.
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Table 3
Standardized Coefficients for Girls' Positive Self-Image

Regressed on Body Size, Waves 2 and 3
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Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
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December 1.
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority
Psychology
Pubertal Timing as a Moderator Between General
Discrimination Experiences and Self-Esteem Among
African American and Caribbean Black Youth
Eleanor K. Seaton and Rona Carter
Online First Publication, September 19, 2019.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000305
CITATION
Seaton, E. K., & Carter, R. (2019, September 19). Pubertal
Timing as a Moderator Between General
Discrimination Experiences and Self-Esteem Among African
American and Caribbean Black Youth.
Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Advance
online publication.
Pubertal Timing as a Moderator Between General
Discrimination
Experiences and Self-Esteem Among African American and
Caribbean
Black Youth
Eleanor K. Seaton
Arizona State University

Rona Carter
University of Michigan
Objectives: The present study used a nationally representative
sample of African American and Carib-
bean Black adolescents to examine whether relative pubertal
timing moderated the relation between
general and racial discrimination experiences and self-esteem. It
was anticipated that discrimination
experiences would be more harmful for early maturing African
American and Caribbean Black girls and
boys compared to their on-time and late counterparts. Method:
The participants included 1170 youth
(e.g., 563 males and 607 females) from the National Survey of
American Life-Adolescent (NSAL-A)
who ranged in age from 13 to 17. Youth completed self-report
measures of pubertal development, general
and racial discrimination experiences, and self-esteem. Results:
Moderation was evident such that
African American and Caribbean Black girls who perceived
their pubertal development as early relative
to their same-age and same-sex peers exhibited higher self-
esteem than African American and Caribbean
Black girls who perceived their development as late at high
levels of general discrimination experiences.
Moderation was not evident for racial discrimination
experiences among African American and Carib-
bean Black girls, nor was it evident for general and racial
discrimination experiences among African
American and Caribbean Black males. Conclusions: The
findings suggest that relative pubertal timing
operates as a potential moderator for general discrimination
experiences among African American and
Caribbean Black girls.

Public Significance Statement
The study suggests that African American and Caribbean Black
girls who start puberty earlier than
their female counterparts had high self-esteem when they
experienced discrimination. This was in
contrast to African American and Caribbean Black girls who
started puberty later than their female
counterparts who had lower self-esteem when they experienced
discrimination.
Keywords: African American, Caribbean Black, adolescents,
perceived pubertal timing, discrimination
experiences
Discrimination is a common experience for Black1 youth. Cur-
rent estimates from national data suggest that the majority of
African American and Caribbean Black youth reported discrimi-
natory experiences within the past year (Seaton, Caldwell,
Sellers,
& Jackson, 2008). Although discrimination may be attributed to
various demographic characteristics, the most prevalent
attribution
included race/ethnicity among African American and Caribbean
Black youth (Seaton, Caldwell, Sellers, & Jackson, 2010).
Given
the prevalence of discrimination and racial discrimination
experi-
ences among Black youth, it is unsurprising that a recent meta-
analysis indicated that these experiences are linked to a variety
of
negative outcomes among minority youth, including Black
youth
(Benner et al., 2018).
Burgeoning research has identified several moderators for racial

discrimination experiences among Black youth, including
ethnic/
racial identity, racial socialization, parenting behaviors, and
coping
strategies (Brody et al., 2006; Fuller-Rowell et al., 2012;
Gaylord-
1 The term “Black” refers to individuals of African descent in
the United
States including the descendants of enslaved Africans,
Caribbean Black
immigrants and their descendants, and African immigrants and
their de-
scendants.
X Eleanor K. Seaton, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and
Family
Dynamics, Arizona State University; Rona Carter, Department
of Psychol-
ogy, University of Michigan.
Funding for the National Survey of American Life-Adolescents
(NSAL-A)
was supported by contract (U01-MH-57716) from the National
Institute of
Mental Health and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Research
at the National Institutes of Health. We thank everyone who
participated in
the NSAL-A.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Eleanor
K. Seaton, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family
Dynamics,
Arizona State University, P.O. Box 873701, Tempe, AZ 85287-

3701.
E-mail: [email protected]
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Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology
© 2019 American Psychological Association 2019, Vol. 1, No.
999, 000
ISSN: 1099-9809 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000305
1
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3285-4767
mailto:[email protected]
Harden & Cunningham, 2009; Saleem & Lambert, 2016; Varner
et
al., 2018). However, one moderator that has not been examined
in
conjunction with discrimination experiences is pubertal timing,
a
critical developmental transition that can alter how adults and
peers respond to developing youth (Carter, Mustafaa, & Leath,
2018). The rationale for examining pubertal development as a
moderator for discrimination experiences is due to the fact that
discrimination experiences precede pubertal development among

Black youth. Prior research indicates that Black youth reported
racial discrimination experiences around the age of five (Coker
et
al., 2009) and increasing experiences in early adolescence from
peers and teachers in school settings (Chavous, Rivas-Drake,
Smalls, Griffin, & Cogburn, 2008; Niwa, Way, & Hughes, 2014)
and adults outside of school (Niwa et al., 2014). Although Black
youth begin pubertal development earlier than their White,
Latino,
and Asian American counterparts (Keenan, Culbert, Grimm,
Hip-
well, & Stepp, 2014; Mendle, Harden, Brooks-Gunn, & Graber,
2010), one study indicated that advanced pubertal development
among Black youth occurred between the ages of 11.5 and 13
(Cance & Ennett, 2012). Thus, discrimination experiences
precede
pubertal development among Black youth even though Black
youth are the first to undergo pubertal development. The current
study examined whether pubertal timing moderated associations
between general and racial discrimination experiences and self-
esteem among nationally representative samples of African
Amer-
ican and Caribbean Black males and females.
Discrimination Experiences and Self-Esteem
Racial discrimination is a ubiquitous part of middle childhood
and adolescence for Black youth, with the majority experiencing
racial discrimination over long periods of time (Gee,
Walsemann,
& Brondolo, 2012). Black youth experience racial
discrimination
early in middle childhood (Coker et al., 2009), and report
increas-
ing experiences from adolescence into adulthood (Brody et al.,
2014). Although Black youth may experience discrimination for

a
variety of reasons (e.g., gender, age, physical appearance), prior
work has demonstrated that race/ethnicity was the primary attri-
bution among nationally representative samples of African
Amer-
ican and Caribbean Black youth (Seaton et al., 2010).
Racially discriminatory experiences are prevalent such that
most
Black youth report these experiences regardless of the measured
time frame (see Brody, Yu, Miller, & Chen, 2015; Tynes,
Umaña-
Taylor, Rose, Lin, & Anderson, 2012). National data indicated
that
87% of African American youth and 90% of Caribbean Black
youth experienced at least one discriminatory incident in the
prior
year (Seaton et al., 2008). Given the pervasiveness of racial dis-
crimination, prior research has demonstrated that racial
discrimi-
nation has been linked to low self-esteem among African
Ameri-
can youth (Cogburn, Chavous, & Griffin, 2011; Seaton, 2009).
A
recent meta-analysis conducted among ethnic/racial minority
youth indicated a positive relation between racial discrimination
and socioemotional distress, which included measures of self-
esteem (Benner et al., 2018).
The Importance of Pubertal Timing
Pubertal development includes biological processes designed to
prepare individuals for sexual maturation and sexual
reproduction
(Dorn & Susman, 2019). There is variation in pubertal develop-

ment as articulated by Mendle and colleagues (2019, p. 91):
“There may be substantial variation in the timing and onset of
key
milestones, the pace at which the process unfolds, the
correspon-
dence of different pubertal indicators with each other; and the
ways in which social identities might intersect with the psycho-
logical response to puberty.” Pubertal timing encompasses the
age
at which youth physically mature (Mendle et al., 2019), and
Black
girls begin pubertal development earlier than White, Latina, and
Asian American girls (Keenan et al., 2014; Susman et al.,
2010).
The trend of earlier pubertal timing is also consistent among
Black
boys (Herman-Giddens, Wang, & Koch, 2001; Rosenfield,
Lipton,
& Drum, 2009; Sun et al., 2002).
There are two ways to assess pubertal timing, objective and
subjective assessments, and the current study examined
subjective
assessments. Subjective measures of pubertal timing assess a
con-
vergence of biological, social, and cognitive changes related to
puberty, and include self- or parent-reported questionnaires
related
to relative development or specific indicators (Mendle et al.,
2019;
Moore, Harden, & Mendle, 2014). Prior research examining
sub-
jective pubertal timing has primarily focused on internalizing
outcomes among Black youth. Among Black girls, previous re-
search has indicated that Black girls who develop earlier than
their

same-age peers exhibited internalizing outcomes such as anxiety
and depressive symptoms (Carter, Caldwell, Matusko,
Antonucci,
& Jackson, 2011; Carter, Jaccard, Silverman, & Pina, 2009;
Carter
et al., 2017; Ge, Brody, Conger, & Simons, 2006). Yet early
pubertal effects are substantially less well understood among
boys
compared to girls (Mendle & Ferrero, 2012). Although research
is
scant on subjective pubertal timing among Black boys, previous
research has indicated that Black boys who developed earlier
were
more likely to exhibit anxiety and depressive symptoms (Ge et
al.,
2003, 2006).
Yet one aspect of mental health that has rarely been examined
in
conjunction with subjective pubertal timing indicators is self-
esteem. Self-esteem is important because puberty has a social
component such that bodily changes alter how adults and peers
respond to adolescents as their bodies develop (Carter et al.,
2018;
Ge et al., 2006; Reynolds & Juvonen, 2011). Thus, how other
individuals respond to developing youth can be a critical
determi-
nant of how adolescents feel about their developing selves, and
ultimately their self-esteem. One study conducted among ethni-
cally and racially diverse girls indicated that girls who were
categorized as early maturing evidenced lower self-worth than
their on-time counterparts (Reynolds & Juvonen, 2012).
Another
study conducted among ethnic/racial minority youth indicated
that
being labeled a victim of peer-victimization was linked to low

self-worth, and this was especially true among early-maturing
boys
and girls (Nadeem & Graham, 2005). Similarly, Black youth
who
perceived their pubertal timing as “late” indicated the least
favor-
able self-perception of their bodies (Siegel, Yancey,
Aneshensel,
& Schuler, 1999). Lastly, a study indicated that non-White
females
had the highest levels of self-esteem such that early and on-time
developers exhibited self-esteem similar to males, and late
devel-
opers had the lowest self-esteem levels (Morin, Maïano, Marsh,
Janosz, & Nagengast, 2011). Thus, pubertal timing has been dif-
ferentially linked to self-esteem among early and late
developers.
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2 SEATON AND CARTER
Ethnic Subgroups and Puberty
Ethnic subgroup difference within the Black population in the

United States are largely neglected in developmental research
(Collins, 1992). The Black American population comprises indi-
viduals with varied languages, countries of origin, history,
cultural
beliefs, and socialization practices (Hopp & Herring, 1999).
These
differences may influence the meaning that Black youth
attribute
to pubertal development as well as how adults and peers
respond
to developing Black youth. As of this writing, one study
examined
ethnic subgroup differences in pubertal effects (i.e., menarche
and
relative pubertal timing) using the National Survey of American
Life-Adolescent (NSAL-A; Carter, Silverman, & Jaccard, 2011).
The NSAL-A includes nationally representative samples of
Afri-
can American and Caribbean Black boys and girls (Jackson et
al.,
2004). Caribbean Black girls were more likely to perceive their
pubertal timing relative to peers as early, whereas African
Amer-
ican girls were more likely to perceive their pubertal timing as
average compared to girls of their respective age (Carter et al.,
2011). Furthermore, Caribbean Black girls who perceived their
development to be early engaged in more externalizing
behaviors,
although menarche did not significantly predict Black girls’
symp-
toms of externalizing behaviors and depression (Carter et al.,
2011). Prior research has not examined ethnic subgroup differ-
ences in pubertal effects among Black boys.
The Present Study

A recent paper called for more research examining descriptive
puberty processes and related outcomes among ethnic/racial mi-
nority youth, sexual minority youth, transgender youth, and
boys
(see Deardorff, Hoyt, Carter, & Shirtcliff, 2019). The current
study
answered this call with examination of whether relative pubertal
timing moderated associations between discrimination
experiences
and self-esteem among Black youth, and is noteworthy for four
reasons. Initially, the current study examined one aspect of sub-
jective pubertal timing, relative pubertal timing, which assessed
whether adolescents report themselves as being non-normative
in
one direction (e.g., early) or the other (e.g., late) relative to
their
same-sex and same-age peers (Graber, Petersen, & Brooks-
Gunn,
1996). This affords the opportunity to assess girls’ and boys’
interpretation of pubertal changes relative to their same-age and
same-sex peers. Second, the current study explored general and
racial discrimination experiences. Although Black children have
an awareness of racism in early and middle childhood (Dulin-
Keita, Hannon Iii, Fernandez, & Cockerham, 2011) and
experience
racial discrimination as young as age five (Coker et al., 2009),
not
all Black adolescents attribute their discriminatory experiences
to
race/ethnicity (Seaton et al., 2010). It is of interest to examine
if
relative pubertal timing moderated general and racial
discrimina-
tion experiences among Black youth. Third, it was anticipated
that
relative pubertal timing moderated general and racial

discrimina-
tion experiences, because previous research demonstrated that
Black children are perceived to be older than White children
who
are the same age and penalized more harshly than their same-
age
White counterparts (Goff, Jackson, Di Leone, Culotta, & DiTo-
masso, 2014). Given the prevalence of discrimination
experiences
based on race/ethnicity (Seaton et al., 2010), it is possible that
early-maturing Black youth experience more general and racial
discrimination than their on-time or late-developing Black
coun-
terparts because they are perceived to be older by peer and adult
perpetrators (Goff et al., 2014), and manifest more negative out-
comes in response. Fourth, ethnic subgroup differences in
associ-
ations among relative pubertal timing, general and racial
discrim-
ination experiences, and self-esteem among African American
and
Caribbean Black boys and girls were explored using the NSAL-
A.
With few exceptions (see Carter et al., 2011, 2017), the bulk of
pubertal research conducted among Black youth has primarily
used African American samples. Utilization of NSAL-A affords
the opportunity to examine ethnic subgroup differences in
puberty
among Black boys and Caribbean Black youth, two understudied
populations in pubertal research (see Deardorff et al., 2019).
The current study hypothesized that general and racial discrim-
ination experiences would be associated with decreased self-
esteem among African American and Caribbean Black boys and
girls as consistent with a recent meta-analysis (Benner et al.,

2018). It was also expected that pubertal timing would moderate
general and racial discrimination experiences such that
discrimi-
natory experiences would be more harmful for early maturing
African American and Caribbean Black girls and boys compared
to their on-time and late counterparts (Goff et al., 2014).
Moder-
ator variables explain under what conditions specific effects
occur
(Baron & Kenny, 1986), and it was conceptualized that early
pubertal development is a condition by which discriminatory ex-
periences are negatively linked to self-esteem, unlike average or
late pubertal development. The current study also examined
whether ethnicity moderated the relation among relative
pubertal
timing, discrimination experiences, and self-esteem. Given the
lack of research examining ethnic differences in the Black
Amer-
ican population, no hypotheses were offered regarding the role
of
ethnicity in the relation between relative pubertal timing,
discrim-
ination experiences, and self-esteem among African American
and
Caribbean Black boys and girls.
Method
Participants
The participants were African American and Caribbean Black
youth who participated in the National Survey of American
Life-
Adolescents (NSAL-A; Heeringa et al., 2004; Jackson et al.,
2004). The participants included African American (n � 810)
and

Caribbean Black (n � 360) youth ranging in age from 13 to 17
(M � 15 years; SD � 1.42). The overall sample was equally
composed of males (N � 563 unweighted, 48% weighted) and
females (N � 607 unweighted, 52% weighted), and there was an
equal gender distribution for African American and Caribbean
Black youth. Approximately 96% of the sample was still
enrolled
in high school, and the average grade was 9th. The median
family
income was $28,000 (approximately $26,000 for African Ameri-
cans and approximately $32,250 for Caribbean Blacks).
Specifics
of the original NSAL-A sample have been described elsewhere
(see Carter et al., 2011; Seaton et al., 2008).
Procedure
A national probability sample of households was drawn based
on adult population estimates and power calculations for
detecting
differences among the adult samples. Every household that in-
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3PUBERTY, DISCRIMINATION, AND SELF-ESTEEM

cluded an adult participant in the NSAL was screened for an
eligible adolescent in the targeted age range (e.g., 13 to 17).
Adolescents who met eligibility criteria were selected using a
random selection procedure. The adolescent supplement was
weighted to adjust for nonindependence in selection
probabilities
and nonresponse rates within households, across households and
individuals. The weighted data were poststratified to
approximate
the national population distributions for gender and age
subgroups
among African American and Caribbean Black youth. The
specific
sampling procedures for identification and recruitment of
African
American and Caribbean Black households have been described
elsewhere (see Carter et al., 2011; Seaton et al., 2008).
Informed
consent was obtained from the adolescent’s legal guardian as
well
as the adolescent prior to the interview. The majority of the
adolescent interviews were conducted with same-race
interviewers
using computers in their respective homes, and a small minority
(18%) were conducted entirely or partially by telephone. For
privacy purposes, the adolescent interviews were conducted
with
no family members present. The adolescents were paid $50 for
their participation.
Measures
Demographic variables. Adolescents were asked their age in
years at the time of the interview. Ethnicity and parents’
nativity

status were assessed with standard questions used in the
household
sampling procedure. Imputed family income was calculated
based
on information provided by the adult respondent for the
household
in which the adolescent lived for the year prior to the adult
interview.
Everyday Discrimination Scale. The Everyday Discrimina-
tion Scale assesses chronic, routine, and less overt experiences
of
discrimination that have occurred in the prior year (Williams,
Yu,
Jackson, & Anderson, 1997). The revised measure includes 13
items, and psychometric analyses indicated that the measure
was
valid and reliable among African American and Caribbean
Black
youth (see Seaton et al., 2008). The stem question is “In your
day-to-day life how often have any of the following things hap-
pened to you?” A sample item includes “You are followed
around
in stores.” The Likert response scale ranges from 1 (never) to 6
(almost every day), and internal consistency was acceptable for
the
sample (� � .86). The responses were coded to indicate
whether
an event occurred versus an event never occurring. A count
score
was created such that higher scores indicated a greater number
of
events that occurred in the previous year.
Discrimination attribution. The specific question read,
“We’ve talked about a number of things that may have happened

to you in your day-to-day life. Thinking of those things that
have
happened to you, overall what do you think was the main reason
for this/these experiences?” The participants were instructed to
choose an overall attribution for the 13 items, and selections
included 1) race/ethnicity, 2) gender, 3) age, 4) physical appear-
ance (i.e., height or weight), or 5) other (Williams et al., 1997).
Relative pubertal timing. Perceived pubertal timing (e.g.,
overall) relative to peers was assessed with one item that asked,
“How advanced would you say your physical development is
compared to other girls/boys your age?” The response scale in-
cluded the following: 1 (I look younger than most), 2 (I look
younger than some), 3 (I look about average), 4 (I look older
than
some), and 5 (I look older than most). Higher numbers indicated
greater perceptions that one’s pubertal development was earlier
relative to same-sex and same-age peers. Studies have demon-
strated reasonable confidence using a one-item variable to
measure
youths’ perceptions of their pubertal timing relative to peers
(see
Dubas, Graber, & Petersen, 1991; Graber, Lewinsohn, Seeley, &
Brooks-Gunn, 1997). Dubas and colleagues (1991) demonstrated
that feelings regarding puberty were related to perceived
pubertal
timing relative to peers but not an objective measure of pubertal
timing. Moreover, the perceived pubertal timing item is a well-
established and effective method for assessing perceptions of
the
timing of pubertal changes compared to peers (see Coleman &
Coleman, 2002; Dubas et al., 1991; Negriff & Susman, 2011).
Self-esteem. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale is an assess-
ment of self-acceptance (Rosenberg, 1965). The 10-item Likert

scale (� � .72) consists of rating items with responses ranging
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Previous
research
indicated that this measure was valid among African American
and
Caribbean Black youth (see Seaton et al., 2008). Sample items
include “I feel that I have a number of good qualities” and “On
the
whole, I am satisfied with myself.” Negative items were
reversed
so higher scores represent high levels of self-esteem.
Data Analytic Strategy
STATA 15.0 was used to calculate the complex design-based
estimates of variance. Actual numbers are reported for sample
sizes, while weighted data are used in the analyses. Linear
regres-
sion analyses were conducted to assess if discrimination experi-
ences were associated with self-esteem, while controlling for
eth-
nicity, household income, age, and nativity status. A relative
pubertal timing � discrimination interaction term was included
in
the analyses to examine if the relation between discrimination
experiences and self-esteem varied among the relative pubertal
timing groups. A three-way interaction (e.g., pubertal timing �
discrimination � ethnicity) was included to assess if these rela-
tions varied for African American and Caribbean Black youth.
The
analytical techniques adjusted the standard errors to account for
the complex sample design of the NSAL, which involved
multiple
stages, clustering, and stratification. Standard errors adjusted
for
complex design effects are usually larger than nonadjusted stan-

dard errors. In this study, the standard errors for Caribbean
Blacks
were typically higher than those for African Americans because
the Caribbean Black sample is significantly more clustered than
the African American sample. Ethnic differences that appeared
to
be large were not necessarily statistically significant.
Results
The results indicate variation along the relative pubertal timing
dimensions among African American and Caribbean Black girls
(see Table 1). Although most African American girls perceived
their development as on time in comparison to their same-sex
and
age peers, the majority of Caribbean Black girls perceived their
pubertal development to be earlier than some compared to their
same-sex and age peers, F(1.9, 75.99) � 7.2, p � .01, consistent
with prior research (see Carter et al., 2011). There was no
signif-
icant variation in the relative pubertal timing dimensions among
African American and Caribbean Black boys such that the
major-
T
hi
s
do
cu
m
en
t

is
co
py
ri
gh
te
d
by
th
e
A
m
er
ic
an
P
sy
ch
ol
og
ic
al
A
ss

oc
ia
ti
on
or
on
e
of
it
s
al
li
ed
pu
bl
is
he
rs
.
T
hi
s
ar
ti

cl
e
is
in
te
nd
ed
so
le
ly
fo
r
th
e
pe
rs
on
al
us
e
of
th
e
in

di
vi
du
al
us
er
an
d
is
no
t
to
be
di
ss
em
in
at
ed
br
oa
dl
y.
4 SEATON AND CARTER

ity perceived that their pubertal development was on-time
relative
to their same-sex and age peers, F(2.5, 101.6) � 0.14, p � .91
(see
Table 2). There were no gender differences in self-esteem
(B � �.01, p � .63) among Black boys (M � 3.55, SD � .02)
and
Black girls (M � 3.56, SD � .02).
There were gender differences in general discrimination expe-
riences (B � �.13, p � .05), with Black boys (M � 5.45, SD �
.27) reporting more than Black girls (M � 4.79, SD � .21),
consistent with previous research (see Seaton et al., 2008).
Among
the 87% of Black youth who reported a discriminatory incident,
the breakdown for the attributions included race/ethnicity
(48%),
gender (9%), age (18%), physical appearance (16%), or other
(9%), consistent with prior research (see Seaton et al., 2010).
Given the small sample sizes for the attribution groups, the
second
set of analyses were restricted to the subsample of Black girls
and
boys who chose race/ethnicity as the attribution for their
discrim-
inatory experiences. There were gender differences (B � �.12,
p � .05), with Black boys (M � 6.29, SD � .41) reporting more
racial discrimination experiences than Black girls (M � 5.60,
SD � .32).
African American and Caribbean Black Girls
There were no ethnic differences in self-esteem among African

American and Caribbean Black girls (B � �.02, p � .05; see
Table 3). General discrimination experiences were associated
with
decreased self-esteem (B � �.03, p � .01), and the general
discrimination � pubertal timing interaction term was
significant
(B � .01, p � .01). The Aiken and West (1991) procedure was
used to graph the interaction (see Figure 1). The results
indicated
that at high levels of general discrimination experiences,
African
American and Caribbean Black girls who perceived their devel-
opment as early relative to their same-age and same-sex peers
exhibited higher self-esteem than African American and
Caribbean
Black girls who perceived their development as late. Racial dis-
crimination experiences were associated with decreased self-
esteem (B � �.03, p � .01), and no other main effects or
interaction terms were significant (see Table 4).
African American and Caribbean Black Boys
There were no ethnic differences in self-esteem among African
American and Caribbean Black boys (B � .03, p � .05; see
Table
5). General discrimination experiences were associated with de-
creased self-esteem (B � �.02, p � .01) among African
American
and Caribbean Black boys (see Table 5). There were no other
significant main effects or interactions. Racial discrimination
ex-
periences were not associated with decreased self-esteem
(B � �.01, p � .05), and no other main effects or interaction
terms
were significant (see Table 6).

Discussion
Although prior research has identified various moderators that
lessen the negative impact of discrimination experiences among
Black youth (e.g., ethnic/racial identity, parenting techniques,
ra-
Table 1
Variation in Female Perceived Pubertal Timing by Ethnicity
Pubertal item
African American
females
Caribbean black
females
I look younger than most 14% 12%
I look younger than some 13% 14%
I look about average 42% 24%
I look older than some 22% 48%
I look older than most 8% 2%
Missing 1%__ —
Note. Bold numbers indicate the prevalent group. Design-based
F(1.90,
75.99) � 7.2, p � .01.
Table 2
Variation in Male Perceived Pubertal Timing by Ethnicity
Pubertal item
African American

males
Caribbean black
males
I look younger than most 16% 15%
I look younger than some 14% 16%
I look about average 39% 32%
I look older than some 20% 24%
I look older than most 11% 12%
Missing — 1%
Note. Bold numbers indicate the prevalent group. Design-based
F(2.54,
101.58) � .14, p � .91.
Table 3
Perceived Pubertal Timing as a Moderator for General
Black Females
Predictor B SE
Ethnicitya �.01 .05
Household income .00 .00
Age .00 .01
Nativity status �.03 .02
Discrimination �.03�� .01
Perceived pubertal timing .01 .02
Discrimination � Perceived pubertal timing .01�� .00
Discrimination � Perceived pubertal timing � Ethnicity �.00
.00
a 0 � African American, 1 � Caribbean Black.
� p � .05. �� p � .01.

Figure 1. The relation among discrimination, perceived pubertal
timing,
and self-esteem among African American and Caribbean Black
females.
T
hi
s
do
cu
m
en
t
is
co
py
ri
gh
te
d
by
th
e
A
m
er

ic
an
P
sy
ch
ol
og
ic
al
A
ss
oc
ia
ti
on
or
on
e
of
it
s
al
li
ed

pu
bl
is
he
rs
.
T
hi
s
ar
ti
cl
e
is
in
te
nd
ed
so
le
ly
fo
r
th

e
pe
rs
on
al
us
e
of
th
e
in
di
vi
du
al
us
er
an
d
is
no
t
to
be

di
ss
em
in
at
ed
br
oa
dl
y.
5PUBERTY, DISCRIMINATION, AND SELF-ESTEEM
cial socialization strategies), pubertal timing has rarely been ex-
amined. Pubertal timing is a critical developmental transition
that
can alter interactions between developing youth and others in
their
environment (Carter et al., 2017). Addressing this gap, we drew
on
the NSAL-A, which provided the opportunity to examine
general
and racial discrimination experiences among Black boys and
girls
in conjunction with relative pubertal timing in predicting self-
esteem. We also explored ethnic subgroup differences in the
independent and conjoint roles of relative pubertal timing and
general and racial discrimination experiences in predicting self-
esteem. The results indicate that relative pubertal timing

moderates
the relation between general discrimination experiences and
self-
esteem among African American and Caribbean Black females
but
not males. Similarly, relative pubertal timing did not moderate
the
relation between racial discrimination experiences and self-
esteem
among African American and Caribbean Black males and
females.
The findings indicate that at high levels of general discrimina-
tion experiences, African American and Caribbean Black girls
who
perceived their pubertal timing as early relative to their same-
age
and same-sex peers exhibited higher self-esteem compared to
girls
who perceived their pubertal timing as late. Although this
finding
is inconsistent with our expectations, one explanation concerns
parental racial socialization messages. It is possible that early
developing Black girls are more equipped to handle general dis-
crimination experiences due to parental racial socialization mes-
sages. Racial socialization messages include the implicit,
explicit,
verbal, or nonverbal messages regarding the beliefs and values
in
relation to one’s ethnic/racial group membership (Hughes et al.,
2006) and is a common practice among African American
mothers
and fathers (Cooper, Smalls-Glover, Neblett, & Banks, 2015;
Smith-Bynum, Anderson, Davis, Franco, & English, 2016).
Prior

research indicates that African American parents engage in
more
racial socialization messages with female offspring compared to
male offspring (Brown, Linver, & Evans, 2010). Although racial
socialization messages have not been studied in conjunction
with
pubertal development, it is possible that African American and
Caribbean Black parents intensify their racial socialization mes-
sages for their early developing daughters. One question is
whether
there is a connection between adolescent and parent perceptions
of
early pubertal timing. Prior research conducted among 251
African
American parent–son dyads indicated that parents were aware
when their sons began exhibiting early pubertal development
(Cunningham, Swanson, Spencer, & Dupree, 2003).
Specifically,
the results indicated that parental observations of pubertal
statues
were linked to objective assessments of height and weight (Cun-
ningham et al., 2003). Although this study was conducted
among
boys, it is possible that African American parents recognize
when
their daughters are early developing as well. Thus, parents may
recognize that their Black daughters are developing early and
intensify their racial socialization messages, which may ensure
that
early developing Black girls are better prepared to handle
general
discrimination experiences compared to their late-developing
counterparts.
Relative pubertal timing did not moderate associations between
general discrimination experiences and self-esteem among

African
American and Caribbean Black boys. One explanation may be
that
specific aspects of pubertal development (e.g., height, facial
hair
growth, voice changes) may be more salient in the context of
general discrimination experiences. Although Goff and
colleagues
(2014) reported that White adults perceived Black children to be
older than their same-age White counterparts, it is unclear what
this overestimation was based on. It is possible that White
adults
estimate that Black boys who are taller and heavier and have
facial
hair are older based on the characteristics of early pubertal
devel-
opment. Similarly, African American parents reported that the
major physical changes they noticed about their sons included
height, facial hair, and weight changes (Cunningham et al.,
2003).
Table 4
Perceived Pubertal Timing as a Moderator for Racial
Black Females
Predictor B SE
Ethnicitya .08 .09
Age .01 .02
Nativity status .04 .05
Perceived pubertal timing .04 .03
Discrimination � Perceived pubertal timing .01 .01

.00
� p � .05. �� p � .01.
Table 5
Perceived Pubertal Timing as a Moderator for General
Black Males
Predictor B SE
Ethnicitya .03 .07
Age .02 .01
Perceived pubertal timing �.01 .00
Discrimination � Perceived pubertal timing .00 .00
.00
� p � .05. �� p � .01.
Table 6
Perceived Pubertal Timing as a Moderator for Racial
Black Males
Predictor B SE
Ethnicitya �.04 .09
Age .02 .02

Discrimination �.01 .01
Perceived pubertal timing �.01 .02
Discrimination � Perceived pubertal timing �.00 .01
.00
� p � .05. �� p � .01.
T
hi
s
do
cu
m
en
t
is
co
py
ri
gh
te
d
by
th
e

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