African American Early Adolescents Research Articles

Race-related Stressors and Resources for Resilience: Associations With Emotional Health, Conduct Problems, and Academic Investment Among African American Early Adolescents.

African American youths in the United States grow up in a society with a long, pervasive, and living history of interpersonal and institutional racism. This study examined whether race-related stressors (awareness and experiences of racism) and resources for resilience (racial-ethnic connectedness and perceptions of embedded achievement) were associated with emotional health, conduct problems, and academic investment among African American early adolescents. Embedded achievement is the belief that achievement is a part of one's racial or ethnic group identity. Participants were recruited from an urban school and youth club (N= 75, mean age= 11.6 years, 71% male participants). Structured interviews were administered to youths. Adjusting for age and sex, racial-ethnic connectedness and embedded achievement were associated with fewer emotional problems and conduct problems. In addition, embedded achievement was associated with greater academic investment. Racial-ethnic connectedness modified associations between awareness and experiences of racism and emotional problems; racism was associated with more emotional problems, but only among youths with lower levels of racial-ethnic connectedness. Youths' perceptions of embedded achievement modified an association between experiences of racism and conduct problems; experiences of racism were associated with more conduct problems, but only among youths with lower perceptions of embedded achievement. Race-related resources for resilience appear to promote emotional, behavioral, and academic well-being among African American youths and to confer protection when youths are confronted with the stress and adversity of racism. Health professionals can advocate for policies and practices to combat racism and to foster racial pride and connectedness among youths of color.

Friends matter: Ethnic-racial identity and school adjustment among African American and Latino early adolescents

The current study investigated the role of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) on early adolescents’ school adjustment, as moderated by their school friends’ aggregate ERI. The study drew data from a longitudinal socioemotional project in a Midwestern U.S. middle school. Surveys were administered twice over a 6-month interval with a sample of 161 African American and Latino sixth through eighth grade students. Results suggested a promotive role of ERI, as three dimensions (public regard, private regard, and resolution) were positively related to students’ school adjustment. Additional results demonstrated the importance of friend group aggregate ERI; participants with high resolution or private regard, or a friend group with high aggregate resolution or private regard, reported higher levels of school adjustment than those with low individual and friend group-levels of these ERI dimensions. The findings provide insights into the role of social contexts and friend group beliefs on adolescents’ ERI development and school experiences.

Can Parenting Microprotections Buffer Against Adolescents' Experiences of Racial Discrimination?

Previous research highlights the importance and pervasiveness of racial discrimination for minority youth in the United States. Adolescents may experience either personal or group race-based discrimination. While past research found both forms of discrimination are harmful to well-being it is unknown whether parental microprotections, which may buffer against the negative effects of discrimination, protect against both forms of discrimination. Informed by ecological frameworks the present study examined whether parent microprotections (parental warmth/acceptance, cultural socialization, preparation for bias) buffered the effects of personal and group discrimination on adolescents' depressive symptoms. Participants were African American early adolescents (N = 129; 58% female) and their parents (90% mothers). Adolescents attended a Midwestern, Title 1, urban, public middle school and completed surveys in their homerooms and parents completed paper-pencil surveys at home, online or surveys via telephone. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test whether adolescents' personal and group discrimination at school were related to their reports of depressive symptoms and evaluate whether parent microprotections buffered these associations. Results showed that parental microprotections moderated the effects of personal discrimination on depressive symptoms but did not buffer the effects of group discrimination. These results highlight the importance of distinguishing between personal and group discrimination. Further, additional protective factors need to be identified and tested to better understand parental actions that potentially buffer the negative effects of discrimination.

Household chaos and sleep-disturbing behavior of family members: results of a pilot study of African American early adolescents

BackgroundAlthough disorganized, chaotic households have been linked to poorer sleep outcomes, how household chaos actually manifests itself in the behaviors of others around the bedtime of a child or adolescent is not well understood. ObjectiveTo determine whether household chaos was associated with specific, nightly sleep-disturbing activities of adolescents' family members. DesignLongitudinal study. ParticipantsTwenty-six African American or multiethnic early adolescent (ages 11-12 years) and parent dyads, recruited from local schools and social-service agencies in greater Cleveland, OH. MeasurementsOver 14 days, each night at bedtime, adolescents identified family-member activities keeping them awake or making it difficult to sleep by using a smart phone–administered survey. Household organization was assessed via parent-completed, validated instruments. A generalized linear mixed model examined associations between each activity and household-organization measures. ResultsAdjusted for the effect of school being in session the next day, an increasingly chaotic household was associated with increased odds of household members disturbing adolescents' efforts to fall asleep by watching TV/listening to music (odds ratio [OR]=1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.2-3.2), phoning/texting (OR=1.7, 95% CI =1.2-2.9), or having friends/relatives over visiting at the home (OR=1.6, 95% CI =1.0-3.0). Conversely, a more chaotic household was associated with decreased odds of adolescents reporting that “nothing” was keeping them awake or making it more difficult to sleep (OR=0.6, 95% CI =0.4-0.8). Enforced sleep rules were inconsistently associated with sleep-disturbing behaviors. ConclusionImproving early-adolescent sleep may benefit from considering the nighttime behavior of all household members and encouraging families to see that improving early-adolescent sleep requires the household's participation.

Youth Violence

Although research suggests gender differences in both forms and functions of aggressive behavior, there has been limited research into these types among African American early adolescents. This study examined the types and patterns of aggression in girls and boys in that group. Participants were 452 predominantly African American middle school youth (50.4% girls) aged 11 to 13 ( M = 11.97) enrolled in three urban public schools. Students were invited to participate in a school-based intervention designed to prevent aggressive and deviant behaviors. Assessments occurred pre- and post-intervention. Surveys were analyzed to identify gender differences in the levels and types of aggressive behaviors, as well as differences in predictors of aggressive behaviors. Predictors were measured at baseline; aggressive behaviors at follow-up. There were significant gender differences in types of aggressive behaviors and their predictors indicating a need to develop and implement more suitable, gender-tailored prevention and treatment approaches.

Profiles of Community Violence Exposure Among African American Youth: An Examination of Desensitization to Violence Using Latent Class Analysis.

The current study employed latent class analysis (LCA) to identify distinct profiles of community violence exposure and their associations to desensitization outcomes in 241 African American early adolescents (M age = 12.86, SD = 1.28) in the sixth through eighth grade from under-resourced urban communities. Participants self-reported on their exposure to community violence, as well as on depressive and anxiety symptoms. The LCA revealed three distinct classes: a class exposed to low levels of violence (low exposure class), a class exposed to moderately high levels of victimization (victimization class), and a class exposed to high levels of all types of violence (high exposure class). Consistent with predictions, the high exposure class showed the lowest levels of depressive symptoms, suggesting a desensitization outcome. Gender and age were also examined in relation to the classes, and age was significantly associated with an increased risk of being a member of the high exposure class relative to the low exposure class. Using person-based analyses to examine desensitization outcomes provides useful information for prevention and intervention efforts, as it helps to identify a specific subgroup of youth that may be more likely to show desensitization outcomes in the context of community violence.

The Relation of Severity and Type of Community Violence Exposure to Emotional Distress and Problem Behaviors Among Urban African American Adolescents.

Severity level and type of exposure to community violence were examined to determine their effect on emotional distress and problem behaviors among 234 low-income urban African American early adolescents. There were 4 violence exposure scales developed from a principal component analysis of the Richters and Martinez (1993) exposure to violence scale: moderate and severe witnessing and moderate and severe victimization. Regression analyses indicated that moderate victimization was the most consistent predictor of emotional distress and behavioral problems, whereas moderate witnessing did not relate to any of the dependent variables. Severe victimization predicted depression and delinquency, whereas severe witnessing predicted posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and delinquency. Witnessing and victimization scales based on severity of exposure better represented the experience than combining all data into a single exposure or simply witnessing and victimization scales.

The Influence of Nondisclosure on the Mental Health of Urban African-American Adolescents Exposed to Community Violence

African-American youth residing in urban poverty have been shown to be at increased risk for exposure to violence and internalizing symptoms, but there has been little investigation of moderating processes that might attenuate or exacerbate this association. The current study examined nondisclosure as a possible moderator of the association between community violence and internalizing symptoms with a sample of 152 low-income urban African-American early adolescents using hierarchical regression analyses. Results revealed that nondisclosure for relationship reasons (e.g., adults could not be trusted to provide needed support) moderated the association between exposure to community violence and internalizing symptoms. Unexpectedly, however, results of simple effects analyses revealed a stronger association between exposure to violence and internalizing symptoms for youth who disclosed more to adults. Although unexpected, this pattern builds upon prior research indicating that adult–child relationships are compromised within the context of urban poverty and that protective factors may lose their power under conditions of extreme stress.

Youth Functioning in the Coparenting Context: A Mixed Methods Study of African American Single Mother Families

African American youth from single mother families are at an elevated risk for externalizing difficulties, and yet are under-studied in terms of culturally-relevant health promoting influences on their adjustment or positive indices of adjustment. The current study utilized a mixed methods research design (quantitative data: n = 185; qualitative data n = 20) to examine associations between two parenting behaviors displayed by one health promoting influence, nonmarital coparents (i.e., adults identified as significantly involved in child-rearing), and indicators of both adjustment (self-esteem) and maladjustment (externalizing difficulties) among African American early adolescents from single mother homes. Quantitative findings provided support for a differential specificity parenting hypothesis involving coparent parenting behaviors. Coparent monitoring was significantly associated with youth externalizing symptoms but not self-esteem, and its association with externalizing symptoms was marginally stronger than its association with self-esteem. Coparent warmth was associated with both youth externalizing difficulties and self-esteem and significantly more strongly associated with self-esteem compared to externalizing symptoms. Qualitative findings from interviews with adolescent participants suggested that coparents were engaged in close, multi-faceted relationships with them, and, overall, those relationships involved a mixture of functions typically performed by both parental figures and mentors. Findings initially suggest that service providers may want to emphasize the benefits of coparents providing to youth from single mother families consistent social support and monitoring/re-direction, with the latter perhaps being most helpful in the context of a very close relationship between youth and coparents.

Multimethod Analyses of Discretionary Time Use and Health Behaviors Among Urban Low-Income African-American Adolescents

The objective of this pilot study was to examine the relations between discretionary time (DT) social context, health behaviors (dietary intake and physical activity), and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of urban low-income African-American early adolescents. Multiple methods were used, including accelerometers, 24-hour dietary recalls, anthropometric measurements, and Experience Sampling Method (ESM). Participants included 9 boys (mean = 12.9 years) and 16 girls (mean = 12.9 years). Sixteen participants were at a healthy weight (10 girls and 6 boys), and 9 were overweight or obese (5 girls and 3 boys). Eighth graders had higher BMI z scores, engaged in less healthful eating during DT, and spent less time in vigorous exercise in DT than sixth graders. Participants spent the majority of DT with siblings, which was associated with increased light physical activity as measured by accelerometers. The ESM data suggested that adolescents engaged in increased physical activity and decreased sedentary activity when with peers but increased sedentary activity when with parents. Increased percentage of DT spent with parents was associated with increased daily fat intake. Data also indicate high consumption of unhealthy foods across all DT social contexts and activities. Peers may provide a protective social context with regard to obesity-related health behaviors. Targeting changes in health behaviors during the middle school years may be an effective means of decreasing obesity risk among urban African-American adolescents. Interventions for urban African-American early adolescents may benefit from facilitating physical activity with peers and targeting change in family health behaviors.

Adolescent Reports of Aggression as Predictors of Perceived Parenting Behaviors and Expectations.

This study examined the associations between adolescent self-report of aggression and adolescents' perceptions of parenting practices in a sample of African American early adolescents living in low-income, urban communities. Sixth graders (N = 209) completed questionnaires about their aggressive behaviors and perceptions of caregivers' parenting practices at two time points during the school year. Path model findings reveal that adolescent-reported aggression at Time 1 predicted higher levels of perceived parent psychological control and perceived parent expectations for aggressive solutions to conflicts at Time 2. Findings suggest that early adolescent aggression elicits negative parenting behaviors at a subsequent time point.

Parent–Adolescent Relationship Quality and Nondisclosure as Mediators of the Association Between Exposure to Community Violence and Psychological Distress

African American youth residing in urban poverty have been shown to be at increased risk for exposure to violence and for psychological symptoms, but there has been little investigation of mediating processes that might explain this association. This study tested the quality of parent–adolescent relationships and adolescent nondisclosure to adults as mediating mechanisms through which exposure to community violence may lead to psychological symptoms. The current study surveyed a sample of 152 low-income urban African American early adolescents (aged 12–14). Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing exposure to community violence, nondisclosure, parent–adolescent relationship, and psychological symptoms (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms). Path analyses revealed that parent–adolescent relationship quality and nondisclosure both functioned as mediators of the relation between exposure to community violence and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms, though significant direct effects for violence exposure on externalizing symptoms remained. Decomposition of effects revealed that nondisclosure was a stronger mediator than parent–adolescent relationship quality. Results also indicated that exposure to violence can lead to externalizing (but not internalizing) symptoms first by way of parent–adolescent relationship quality and then nondisclosure. Combined, these findings suggest that the development of preventive interventions designed to assist adults and parents improve communication and strengthen relationships with adolescents might reduce the negative effects of exposure to community violence on adolescent mental health.

Promotive peer contexts of academic and social adjustment among rural African American early adolescent boys.

This study investigated the social network system of African American early adolescents (N=237) in rural, low-wealth schools, specifically in terms of networks with norms strongly favoring effort and achievement. Networks with norms favoring effort and achievement were more likely to be central to the social system at the end of the school year. Subsequent analyses focused on boys (n=103) and the effects of affiliation in networks with norms that strongly favored effort and achievement. Twenty-four percent of boys sustained membership in these networks and experienced greater school valuing and likeability, but reduced admiration among peers, net of scores at the beginning of the school year. The results of the study stand to inform both an understanding of positive peer group affiliations of minority boys and intervention work with this population by clarifying developmental mechanisms that contribute to positive school adaptation among rural African American boys.

Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior: Community Violence, Cognitive, and Behavioral Predictors Among Urban African American Youth

We use longitudinal multilevel modeling to test how exposure to community violence and cognitive and behavioral factors contribute to the development of aggressive and prosocial behaviors. Specifically, we examine predictors of self-, peer-, and teacher-reported aggressive and prosocial behavior among 266 urban, African American early adolescents. We examine lagged, within-person, between-person, and protective effects across 2 years. In general, results suggest that higher levels of violence exposure and aggressive beliefs are associated with more aggressive and less prosocial peer-reported behavior, whereas greater self-efficacy to resolve conflict peacefully is associated with less aggression across reporters and more teacher-reported prosocial behavior. Greater knowledge and violence prevention skills are associated with fewer aggressive and more prosocial teacher-reported behaviors. Results also suggest that greater self-efficacy and lower impulsivity have protective effects for youth reporting higher levels of exposure to community violence, in terms of teacher-reported aggressive behavior and peer-reported prosocial behavior. Differences among reporters and models are discussed, as well as implications for intervention.

Youth and Parent Versions of the Asthma-Related Anxiety Scale: Development and Initial Testing

Among adults, anxiety related to asthma has been acknowledged to influence asthma self-management. However, it has not been addressed in pediatric samples and there have been no measures developed to assess asthma-related anxiety in youth or parents. The objective of this study was to develop and test the psychometric properties of novel instruments assessing asthma-related anxiety: the Youth Asthma-Related Anxiety Scale (YAAS) and Parent Asthma-Related Anxiety Scale (PAAS). Scale items were analyzed for content validity. We determined the factor structure using exploratory factor analysis and tested the scales' psychometric properties with 285 Hispanic and African American early adolescents with uncontrolled asthma (mean age=12.8) and their parents (n=230) who participated in a larger randomized control trial testing the efficacy of an asthma intervention; control group families (134 youth and 103 parents) provided follow-up data to assess temporal stability. Both the YAAS and PAAS contained 2 factors with Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0.75 to 0.90. The 2 factors, anxiety about asthma severity and about disease-related restrictions, were highly correlated within each measure. The measures displayed content and construct validity and demonstrated moderate temporal stability over 2-3 months (range: 0.36-0.42). The YAAS and PAAS have adequate psychometric properties and can meaningfully contribute to the assessment of asthma-related anxiety in adolescents and their parents, filling a clinical need in this population.

Patterns of Community Violence Exposure During Adolescence

This study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal patterns of community violence exposure and malleable predictors of these exposure patterns among a community sample of 543 urban African American early adolescents (45.3% female; mean age: 11.76). In each of grades 6, 7, and 8, latent class analyses revealed two patterns of community violence exposure: high exposure and low exposure. For the majority of participants, experiences with community violence were similar at each grade. Impulsive behavior and depressive symptoms distinguished adolescents in the high and low exposure classes in grade 6. Implications for interventions to prevent community violence exposure are discussed.

Role Model Behavior and Youth Violence: A Study of Positive and Negative Effects

The study investigated how role models’ behavior may positively or negatively influence African American early adolescents’ attitudes toward violence and violent behavior. Participants in this study included 331 African American seventh and eighth graders from low-income neighborhoods in an urban, Midwestern city. The study used a model developed and tested to assess the relationships between role model prosocial behavior, role model antisocial behavior, adolescents’ attitudes toward violence, and adolescents’ violent behavior. The model developed was assessed using structural equation modeling. Results revealed the following: (a) Role model prosocial behavior is indirectly related to less violent behavior through adolescents’ attitudes toward violence, (b) role model antisocial behavior is directly linked to increased violent behavior and indirectly linked to increased violent behavior through adolescents’ attitudes toward violence, and (c) role model antisocial behavior appear to have a stronger effect on African American early adolescents’ violent behavior than role model prosocial behavior. Possible explanations for study findings and implications are discussed.

Traumatic events involving friends and family members in a sample of African American early adolescents.

The current study examines violent and nonviolent traumatic events involving friends and family members as predictors of PTSD, depression, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors in a sample of 403 African American early adolescents from chronically violent environments. Although there are many studies of urban children's exposure to community violence, few address the unique contribution of events involving significant others, and almost no research addresses African American youths' exposure to traumatic events other than violence. This study found that violent and nonviolent traumatic events were pervasive in the lives of these urban youth, and that they were as likely to report loss and injury of a close other through an accident as an act of violence. There were strong gender differences in the data. Unexpectedly, injury or loss of a close friend or family member from nonviolent events, but not from violent events, predicted PTSD, internalizing, and depression for boys. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for school-based universal interventions in communities where large numbers of children live with loss and trauma.

The Impact of Racial Discrimination and Coping Strategies on Internalizing Symptoms in African American Youth

The current study examined the impact of racial discrimination stress on internalizing symptoms and coping strategies in a sample of 268 African American early adolescents (mean age = 12.90; 56% female) from low-income communities. Information about discrimination stress, coping, and internalizing symptoms was obtained via adolescents' self-report. It was predicted that discrimination stress would be positively associated with depression and anxiety, as well as culturally-specific coping. Finally, culturally-relevant coping and mainstream coping were examined as moderators of the association between discrimination stress and internalizing symptoms. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that discrimination stress was positively associated with depression and anxiety and predicted culturally-relevant coping while controlling for mainstream coping. Communalistic coping moderated the association between discrimination and anxiety, but demonstrated a vulnerability function by increasing anxiety at high levels of discrimination. The results highlight the salience of racial discrimination for African American adolescents and the importance of considering culturally-specific coping behaviors.

The Effects of Images of African American Women in Hip Hop on Early Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Physical Attractiveness and Interpersonal Relationships

This qualitative study was designed to identify African American early adolescents’ subjective meanings of African American women’s sexuality through an examination of Stephens & Phillips (2003) sexual images—the Diva, Gold Digger, Freak, Dyke, Gangster Bitch, Sister Savior, Earth Mother, and Baby Mama. These eight sexual images both inform and reflect beliefs about African American women’s physical attractiveness. Interpersonal relationship decision making processes also were influenced by these conceptual frameworks of African American women’s sexuality. Findings from this study are important given the tendency of previous researchers to ignore race and intraethnic variations in studies of beliefs about attitudes toward sexuality.