Academic Self-Concept in Black Adolescents: Do Race and Gender Stereotypes Matter?

We examined the relation between race- and gender-group competence ratings and academic self-concept in 254 Black seventh- and eighth-graders. On average, youth reported traditional race stereotypes, whereas gender stereotypes were traditional about verbal abilities and were nontraditional regarding math/science abilities. Among boys, in-group gender and in-group race-based competence ratings (i.e., ratings of boys and Blacks) were related to math/science and verbal self-concepts. However, only gender-based ratings (i.e., ratings of girls’ abilities for reading/writing) were related to girls’ self-concepts. These findings suggest that the influence of race stereotypes on Black adolescents’ academic self-concepts is different for girls than boys. Whereas self-relevant gender groups were associated with both Black girls’ and boys’ academic self-concept, race-based competence ratings were only relevant for the academic self-views of Black boys.