African American adolescent males' perceptions of their community resources and constraints: A longitudinal analysis

Abstract

The research study investigated African American adolescent males' perceptions of their community resources and constraints. The participants were drawn from a sample of African American adolescents participating in a cross-sectional longitudinal study in a large Southeastern American city. Research findings for two waves of data collection are reported [(8th, 9th, & 10th graders) and (10th, 11th, & 12th graders)]. The measures used were a combination of qualitative and quantitative instruments. The results from qualitative analyses indicated that adolescent males communicated with significant adults when confronted with negative experiences. Also, adolescent males reported awareness of negative neighborhood characteristics like drugs and violence. However, when students were asked about barriers that would keep them from reaching their life goals, over 2/3 of the sample had positive goal expectations. The measures used in the quantitative were subjected to reliability and validity checks. The instruments used had alphas above the .70 standard. The measures were The Black Male Experiences Measure, a revised-Machismo Measure and a Revised-Hassles Measure. The year 03 & 05 revised-Machismo Measure (referred to as the Bravado Construct) was the dependent variable. Measures of daily hassles and negative/positive experiences were used to predict exaggerated bravado attitudes in males (F (4, 116) = 8.09, p > .001). The variance accounted for in the model was 19.64%. The implications of the study support beliefs that negative attitudes are learned and are associated with negative contextual experiences. Exaggerated male identity attitudes may be coping strategies for survival in high-risk environments. Suggestions for prevention and intervention programs are given. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.