Television viewing and self‐concept among Hispanic American children—a pilot study

This study explores the relationship between television viewing (hours per week in general and number of Spanish‐language programs watched in particular) and self‐concept among 117 Spanish‐surnamed elementary school children in a small, semirural school district in southern California. The study was conducted by administering a one‐time questionnaire and the results are based on mostly zero‐ and first‐order correlations. Contrary to our expectations, (a) amount of viewing was insignificantly related to self‐concept, and (b) Spanish‐language television viewing was not correlated significantly with self‐concept However, Hispanic American girls tend to watch Spanish‐language television more often than do their male counterparts. Theoretical considerations for studying possible relationships between television viewing and Hispanic American children's psychosocial development are discussed.