African American/Latina High School Girls’ Preoccupation with Concepts of Personal Beauty: The Impact on Self-Worth and Academic Performance
type: CreativeWork
description: 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: 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.
author: Williams, Bobbie
keywords: body image, self-worth, secondary school, academic performance, girls/young women, media influence, Other Education
date published: 2015-05-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:04:44Z
provider: Dominican University of California
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Dominican University of California