The purpose of this study was to examine African American and Latina high school girls’ understanding of how their self-worth and academic performance may be impacted by the amount of time used to achieve a desired physical appearance. This descriptive, qualitative study used a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The researcher conducted discussions with 11 African American and Hispanic American high school girls between the ages of 14-17, enrolled in grades 9-12. Results concluded that a majority of participants believed physical beauty was the most important quality in having a successful life and spent a significant amount of time applying and/or reapplying make-up before, during, and throughout the school day. Participants associated the concept of “ideal” beauty with a Western beauty ideal, and with celebrities. Participants equated physical beauty with success. Lastly, the study concluded that participants spend more time on media devices than on academic work.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to examine African American and Latina high school girls’ understanding of how their self-worth and academic performance may be impacted by the amount of time used to achieve a desired physical appearance. This descriptive, qualitative study used a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The researcher conducted discussions with 11 African American and Hispanic American high school girls between the ages of 14-17, enrolled in grades 9-12. Results concluded that a majority of participants believed physical beauty was the most important quality in having a successful life and spent a significant amount of time applying and/or reapplying make-up before, during, and throughout the school day. Participants associated the concept of “ideal” beauty with a Western beauty ideal, and with celebrities. Participants equated physical beauty with success. Lastly, the study concluded that participants spend more time on media devices than on academic work.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Williams, Bobbie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Madalienne F. Peters, EdD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:44Z","subjects":["body image","self-worth","secondary school","academic performance","girls/young women","media influence","Other Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/285","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Madalienne F. Peters, EdD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Williams, Bobbie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-08-03T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["body image","self-worth","secondary school","academic performance","girls/young women","media influence","Other Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/285"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to examine African American and Latina high school girls’ understanding of how their self-worth and academic performance may be impacted by the amount of time used to achieve a desired physical appearance. This descriptive, qualitative study used a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The researcher conducted discussions with 11 African American and Hispanic American high school girls between the ages of 14-17, enrolled in grades 9-12. Results concluded that a majority of participants believed physical beauty was the most important quality in having a successful life and spent a significant amount of time applying and/or reapplying make-up before, during, and throughout the school day. Participants associated the concept of “ideal” beauty with a Western beauty ideal, and with celebrities. Participants equated physical beauty with success. Lastly, the study concluded that participants spend more time on media devices than on academic work.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["African American/Latina High School Girls’ Preoccupation with Concepts of Personal Beauty: The Impact on Self-Worth and Academic Performance"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Madalienne F. Peters, EdD"],"dc:creator":["Williams, Bobbie"],"dc:date.available":["2017-08-03T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to examine African American and Latina high school girls’ understanding of how their self-worth and academic performance may be impacted by the amount of time used to achieve a desired physical appearance. This descriptive, qualitative study used a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The researcher conducted discussions with 11 African American and Hispanic American high school girls between the ages of 14-17, enrolled in grades 9-12. Results concluded that a majority of participants believed physical beauty was the most important quality in having a successful life and spent a significant amount of time applying and/or reapplying make-up before, during, and throughout the school day. Participants associated the concept of “ideal” beauty with a Western beauty ideal, and with celebrities. Participants equated physical beauty with success. Lastly, the study concluded that participants spend more time on media devices than on academic work.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/285"],"dc:subject":["body image","self-worth","secondary school","academic performance","girls/young women","media influence","Other Education"],"dc:title":["African American/Latina High School Girls’ Preoccupation with Concepts of Personal Beauty: The Impact on Self-Worth and Academic Performance"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:44Z"}