Adolescence is a time when individuals are trying to establish a sense of personal identity. This study compared the self-image of Iranian-American adolescents with those in a normative American sample so as to determine whether or not growing up with two cultures hinders the development of adolescents' self-image. The subjects were 150 (75 male, 75 female) first-generation, Iranian-American adolescents ages 13 to 18, who were either born in or had lived in the United States for more than 10 years. These adolescents lived in large urban areas and 80 percent of them had grade point averages of 3.0 or higher. Participants answered demographic questions and a self-image questionnaire. Results showed that the Iranian-American adolescents had significantly lower total self-image scores than the normative sample. Likewise, participants' scores on a family functioning sub-scale were also significantly lower than the normative sample. The poorer self-image of the study group could be partly due to the conflicts between child rearing practices and cultural expectations of each culture. Educators should note that students who are doing well in school may still suffer from a poor self-image. Contains 98 references. (RJM)