Abstract
The present study sought to examine a sample of second-generation immigrants from adolescence to young adulthood and the connections between perceptions of experiences with discrimination and their adolescent self-esteem. Additionally, this study set out to look for correlations between adolescent self-esteem and adulthood income and educational attainment. Utilizing a secondary dataset of 5262 in the first wave of data collection, the original researchers’ longitudinal study spanning 14 years allowed for the present researcher to replicate each test twice. Perceiving discrimination as present in U.S. economic opportunities yielded mixed results as the relationship was only statistically significant in wave 1 yet not in wave 2. It was found that the relationship between having felt discriminated against and self-esteem values was in fact statistically significant in both waves of data during which this information was collected. When asked whether or not they felt discriminated against by specific groups, the “yes” groups consistently had lower self-esteems than the “no” groups. Respondents’ adolescent self-esteem values were also found to have statistically significant but very weak positive correlations with adulthood annual earnings and educational attainment. The results call for further studies to be conducted in order to better understand the challenges faced by second-generation immigrants, particularly those in adolescence, so that they may be protected from the harmful effects of discrimination.