Self-Concepts of Korean High School Students as Related to Socio-Economic Status

Abstract

To investigate the relationships of self-concept to socio-economic status, the Self-concept Questionnaire of 30 adjective items was administered to 349 Korean high school students. They were divided into two groups: 177 high and 172 low socio-economic groups, using school type as the primary index of social class and father's occupation as the secondary index. Socioeconomic status was not significantly related to self-concept in spite of the highly stratified nature of the Korean society. High-status students, however, generally showed more positive self-concepts. Apparent reason for the lack of relationship was discussed in terms of a social learning view.