Future Orientation among Caucasian and Arab-American Adolescents

Abstract

Future orientation in adolescents is an important concept to study because of its relations with academic performance and success levels. This study examined adolescents’ realism about childrearing and their perceptions of others’ approval of teen pregnancy to examine their association with future orientation. Participants were 476 high school-aged adolescents (122 males and 354 females), aged 14-20. They were 82 percent Caucasian and 18 percent Middle-Eastern. Among the 392 Caucasian-American students there were 105 males and 287 females, aged 14-19, grades 9-12. Among the 84 Arab-American students (17 males, 67 females), students ranged from 14-20 years old, grades 9-12. Variation by gender, race and academic performance levels was also examined. Generally, results confirmed hypotheses. Also, realism and future orientation varied by an interaction between race, gender and academic level, but there were no significant differences in perception of others’ approval of adolescent pregnancy. Implications for researchers, school personnel and parents are discussed.