School and Parental Influences on Sociopolitical Development Among Poor Adolescents of Color

Abstract

Sociopolitical development represents a motivation to reduce sociopolitical inequity, a healthy sense of the self, and perceived agency in the context of structural oppression. Sociopolitical development has been associated with progress in career development, school engagement, and healthier sexual behavior among oppressed and marginalized adolescents. However, knowledge of outcomes that sociopolitical development may facilitate has outpaced knowledge of what may facilitate sociopolitical development. This paper examines key aspects of adolescents' context—the school and parents—and their potential influence on the sociopolitical development of poor adolescents of color. This research question is examined with 2,078 National Educational Longitudinal Survey participants. The obtained structural equation model suggests that parental support and student racial relations are predictive of sociopolitical development. These results provide empirical support for extant sociopolitical development models and illuminate our understanding of a critical social justice issue. These results inform sociopolitical development interventions, counseling practice, and scholarly understanding of how oppressed adolescents cope with sociopolitical inequity.