African American/Latina High School Girls’ Preoccupation with Concepts of Personal Beauty: The Impact on Self-Worth and Academic Performance

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Williams, Bobbie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Madalienne F. Peters, EdD

• body image
• self-worth
• secondary school
• academic performance
• girls/young women
• media influence
• Other Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/285

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.dominican.edu:masters-theses-1293