Rural African American Adolescents' Future Orientation: The Importance of Self-Efficacy, Control and Responsibility, and Identity Development

Abstract

Future orientation has been linked to a range of positive adolescent outcomes (e.g., Nurmi, 1991, 1993; Pulkkinen & Ronka, 1994), whereas a lack of orientation to the future has been associated with delinquency (e.g., Oyserman & Saltz, 1993; Trommsdorff & Lamm, 1980). The purpose of this study was to examine variation in future education and future career orientation within a sample of rural, African American adolescents. It was found that identity exploration and commitment, self-efficacy, control, and responsibility were predictive of future orientation. Furthermore, grade level moderated the relation between control and responsibility and future orientation; for younger adolescents, greater perceived control and responsibility was related to a stronger future orientation. In addition, gender moderated the relation between identity exploration and future orientation; for male adolescents, having higher levels of identity exploration was related to a stronger future orientation.