Creative arts self-concept and anxiety: Do family backgrounds matter?

Recent research on self-concept has emphasized multidimensionality such that self-concept and its relation to other constructs are distinct in each specific domain. The present study tests the hypothesis that self-concepts in creative arts are not only multidimensional, but are also highly related to family backgrounds in specific domains. Confirmatory factor analysis of survey responses from 312 Australian university students in teacher education showed that, in support for domain specificity, self-concepts in music, visual art, dance and drama were distinct constructs. Each of these distinct self-concepts was more positively correlated with family background in its corresponding domain than with other domains. Family background was also found to correlated more negatively with anxiety in corresponding domains than with other domains. The results show that, in creative arts education, family background may be an important factor for the formation of self-concept and anxiety. There is also further support for the multidimensionality and domain specific relations of self-concept with other constructs .