NCJ Number
226605
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2009 Pages: 544-559
Date Published
April 2009
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined how racial identity and neighborhood effects individually and in combination related to the academic achievement of African-American early adolescents.
Abstract
Results support many of the study’s hypotheses about neighborhood effects; neighborhoods accounted for small, yet important, amounts of variance in outcomes. More institutional resources related to higher grade point averages, and more positive role models related to fewer reported absences and less skipping class. Greater economic opportunity predicted spending more time on homework but also more maladaptive engagement behaviors. More organized neighborhoods generally were associated with better outcomes. Positive role models were related to academic behaviors and not school utility value, while institutional resources and economic opportunity were marginally related to value, suggesting that adults with higher incomes and better educations may indeed be modeling behavior and values for youth; institutional resources which included YMCAs and scouting troops, may help promote the importance of school for future success. Data were collected from 564 African-American adolescents who were part of the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (MADICS) a longitudinal study being conducted in Prince George’s County. Tables, figures, and references