ABSTRACT
In the current longitudinal study, we examined associations between Black and Latino youths' perceptions of the public's opinion of their racial/ethnic group (i.e., public regard) and changes in academic adjustment outcomes across middle school. We also tested combinations of racial/ethnic socialization and parent involvement in academic activities as moderators of this association. We used a 2nd-order latent trajectory model to test changes in academic adjustment outcomes in a sample of 345 Black and Latino urban youth across 6th, 7th, and 8th grades (51% female). Results revealed a significant average linear decline in academic adjustment from 6th to 8th grade, as well as significant variation around this decline. We found that parenting moderated the association between public regard and the latent trajectory of academic adjustment. Specifically, for youth who reported high racial/ethnic socialization and low parent academic involvement, lower public regard predicted lower academic adjustment in 6th grade. For youth who reported both low racial/ethnic socialization and low parent academic involvement, lower public regard predicted a steeper decline in academic adjustment over time. Finally, among youth who reported high racial/ethnic socialization and high parent academic involvement, public regard was not associated with either the intercept or the slope of academic adjustment. Thus, the combination of high racial/ethnic socialization and parent academic involvement may protect youths' academic motivation and performance from the negative effects of believing the public has low opinions of one's racial/ethnic group. Implications for protecting Black and Latino youths' academic outcomes from decline during middle school are discussed.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological/physiology , Educational Status , Parenting , Public Opinion , Socialization , Adolescent , Black or African American/psychology , Child , Ethnicity/psychology , Female , Hispanic or Latino/psychology , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Parent-Child Relations , Parenting/ethnology , Predictive Value of Tests , Social IdentificationABSTRACT
Association of demanding kin relations, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and optimism was assessed among 130 low-income African American women. Demanding relations with kin were positively associated with depressive symptoms and negatively linked to self-esteem and optimism. Self-esteem and optimism were negatively associated with depressive symptoms and mediated the association of demanding relations with kin and women's depressive symptoms. Findings were discussed in terms of the detrimental effects of demanding social relations with kin and the possible role that other relationships may play in compensating for poor relations with extended family.
