In a nation whose population is becoming increasingly diverse and where minority groups continue to grow, it is not surprising that ethical identity can play an important role in the mental health of individuals in the United United. ethnic identity constructs vary from study to study, the general consensus is self-identification within a specific ethnic group (e.g. Hispanic, Asian, etc.), inclusion within this group, and the display of appropriate group traits. As a component of one's identity, ethnic identity may be related to important aspects of mental health such as self-esteem. Self-esteem is an individual's attitude towards himself based on the set of beliefs he has about himself (Tashakkori, Abbas; 1993). . It is a considerably important measure of attitude and likely influences and is influenced by many areas of an individual's life, ultimately shaping the individual in many ways. One factor that can play an important role in influencing one's self-esteem is a component of identity known as ethnic identity. Unfortunately, current literature has only begun to explore this relationship and has focused primarily on inclusive groups (e.g., White, Black, Hispanic, etc.) and ignored the complex subgroups within these “major” ethnicity categories. Ethnic Identity and Self-EsteemIn a study conducted by Y. R. Chen, L. C. Masses, J. S. Phinney, A. Romero, R. E. Roberts, and C. R. Roberts (1999), examined whether ethnic identity was positively related to measures of psychological well-being, including self-esteem. A sample of 5,423 middle school students (83% between 12 and 14 years old, 49% females, 51% males) were given a questionnaire to complete at school. The three largest ethnic groups were African-Americans (n=1,237), European-Americans (n=755), and… center of paper… the th group. These findings indicate a clear difference between two individual subgroups regarding the strength and likely importance of ethnicity for individuals in the subgroup and subsequently the level of their self-esteem reflected by ethnic identity. Since the focus on specific Hispanic subgroups is still a relatively new direction for this topic, it is necessary to conduct further research not only on specific subgroups, but also comparing and contrasting between subgroups. In areas such as South Florida, Hispanic subgroups made up the majority of the population, accounting for 64.3% of the population (U.S. Census, 2012). The following study proposes to examine the strength of ethnic identity among Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Nicaraguan subgroups in South Florida and examine the impact on self-esteem and perceived ethnic discrimination for these groups.