African American Middle School Research Articles

A possible selves intervention to enhance school involvement

We developed a 9-week after-school, small group, activities-based intervention focused on enhancing youth's abilities to imagine themselves as successful adults and connecting these future imagines to current school involvement. We describe and evaluate this programme comparing three cohorts of urban African American middle school students ( n=62 experimental, n=146 control), controlling for sex and previous school involvement. By the end of the school year, intervention youth reported more bonding to school, concern about doing well in school, “balanced” possible selves, plausible strategies to attain these possible selves, better school attendance, and for boys, less trouble at school. Copyright 2002 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of Violence on Problem Behavior Among Adolescents

This article measures the effects of exposure to violence on problem behavior (adjustment outcomes) among 306 African American middle and high school students in the state of Virginia. Relying on recent research examining the relationship between violent events and problem behavior, the study uses structural equation modeling to examine internalizing and externalizing behavioral characteristics (i.e., delinquency, depression, negative self-esteem, and avoidance) among African American youth exposed to violence through direct victimization, witnessing violence, and association with delinquent peers. The results show a strong association between victimization experience and adjustment outcomes including internalizing (i.e., self-rejection, depression) and externalizing (i.e., offenses) problem behavior. The results also suggest a linkage between victimization and avoidance as a coping strategy. With regard to gender differences, the findings indicate a greater influence of victimization on offenses, self-rejection, and avoidance among men and a stronger influence of victimization on depression among women in the sample. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.

“Get Up Offa That Thing”: African American Middle School Students Respond to Literature to Develop a Framework for Understanding Social Action

The use of children's literature in urban social studies classrooms to facilitate students' engagement in literate behaviors and simultaneously develop a framework for understanding social action is an under -researched area. This paper discusses the use of literature for children and young adults in an urban middle school language arts and social studies block as a pedagogical strategy to facilitate understandings of social action. The African American students' responses to literature supported a development of a working definition of social action and ideas about action/inaction in their urban community contexts. These issues and others offer guidance for how literature can be used as an extension of citizenship education with the development of critical consciousness, political identity, and social action as the objectives.

Physical Activity Among African American and Latino Middle School Girls: Consistent Beliefs, Expectations, and Experiences Across Two Sites

ABSTRACT Physical inactivity is a major public health concern. Low levels of physical activity are reported in many subgroups of women including adolescent girls. More data are needed to better understand factors related to physical activity participation in adolescent girls. Therefore, we explored adolescent girls' reasons for participating and not participating in physical activity. Two independent samples were taken in California and Texas; the total sample included thirty-four African American and Latino girls. Six focus groups were conducted by trained facilitators. Based on independent qualitative analyses, six replicated themes emerged from the focus groups. Fun, social support, and concern with body image facilitated participation in activity. In contrast, negative experiences in physical education classes, concerns about appearance after activity, and lack of opportunity impeded participation in activity. Overall, the girls showed an interest in physical activity and identified activity motivators and barriers. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research.

Urban African-American middle school science students: Does standards-based teaching make a difference?

The current reform movement in science education promotes standards-based teaching, including the use of inquiry, problem solving, and open-ended questioning, to improve student achievement. This study examines the influence of standards-based teaching practices on the achievement of urban, African-American, middle school science students. Science classes of teachers who had participated in the professional development (n = 8) of Ohio's statewide systemic initiative (SSI) were matched with classes of teachers (n = 10) who had not participated. Data were gathered using group-administered questionnaires and achievement tests that were specifically designed for Ohio's SSI. Analyses indicate that teachers who frequently used standards-based teaching practices positively influenced urban, African-American students' science achievement and attitudes, especially for boys. Additionally, teachers' involvement in the SSI's professional development was positively related to the reported use of standards-based teaching practices in the classroom. The findings support the efficacy of high-quality professional development to change teaching practices and to enhance student learning. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 1019–1041, 2000

The Vocational Interests of Hispanic, African American, and White Middle School Students

Relatively little is known about the vocational interests of middle school students, particularly those of minority students. In this study, the Strong Interest Inventory was administered to 570 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade students in an urban middle school. The major racial groups studied were African American, Hispanic, White, and Spanish Primary Language (SPL) students. Comparisons among racial groups indicated that Spanish Primary Language students expressed significantly higher interests on several of the General Occupational Themes when compared with Hispanic and White students.

Successful Teaching Strategies: Findings from a Case Study of Middle School African Americans Learning Arabic

ABSTRACT A six month case study of ten African American Middle School students in an inner‐city school setting provided the data for the article. Successful strategies were based on theories of discovery learning and synergistic learning styles. The classroom allowed for free physical movement, bonding and multisensorial activities. Students were incorporated into planning lessons and activities, as well as in teaching. Students visited sites in the community where they used the language in real life situations. Contrary to previous research findings on L1 L2 transfer, the study showed that the students' L1, (African American English), facilitated the learning of Arabic.

Violence Prevention Among African American Middle School Children

The description of violence and recommendations for prevention stated here are based on findings of an ethnographic research project carried out in a middle school in an area with high rates of recorded violent crime. Open-ended interviews with African American middle school students were recorded, transcribed, and content analyzed. A quantitative data base recording incidents was established. Research findings indicate that “opening moves” in violent incidents are generally offensive touching, interfering with possessions, hurtful play (including teasing), “backbiting,” (or reported talking against another,) or insults. Most incidents took place in the school or home. This violence is generally attributed to retribution, which holds a number of implications for school-based violence prevention. Practitioners could work to reduce the “opening moves,” aim to change values about punishment responses, and teach non-violent ways of seeking compliance.

Daily Hassles Mediate the Relationship Between Major Life Events and Psychiatric Symptomatology: Longitudinal Findings from an Adolescent Sample

Daily Hassles Mediate the Relationship Between Major Life Events and Psychiatric Symptomatology: Longitudinal Findings from an Adolescent SampleJeffrey G. Johnson and Martin F. ShermanJeffrey G. JohnsonSearch for more papers by this author and Martin F. Sherman1 Columbia University and The New York State Psychiatric Institute2 Loyola College of MarylandSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:January 2011https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.1997.16.4.389PDFPDF PLUS ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations About Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Cited byCited by1. Assessment of Microstressors in Adults: Questionnaire Development and Ecological Validation of the Mainz Inventory of MicrostressorsOnline publication date: 24 February 2020. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar2. Do resettlement variables predict psychiatric treatment outcomes in a sample of asylum-seeking survivors of torture?Online publication date: 24 August 2017. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar3. The Protective Role of Self-Compassion on Risk Factors for Non-suicidal Self-Injury in AdolescenceOnline publication date: 2 August 2016. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar4. Ethnic Clusters in Public Housing and Independent Living of Elderly Immigrants from the Former Soviet UnionOnline publication date: 27 August 2015. Go to citation Crossref Google ScholarNicholas A. Hazel and Benjamin L. Hankin5. A Trait-State-Error Model of Adult Hassles Over Two Years: Magnitude, Sources, and Predictors of Stress ContinuityOnline publication date: 3 February 2014. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar6. Depressive symptoms in native and immigrant adolescents: the role of critical life events and daily hasslesOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar7. Daily life mechanisms of stress spillover among early adolescents experiencing academic difficultyOnline publication date: 17 March 2011. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar8. How does Socio-Political Context Shape Daily Living: The Case of Jews and Arabs in IsraelOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar9. Moderating effects of dispositional resilience on associations between hassles and psychological distressOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar10. Problematic Situations in the Lives of Urban African American Middle School Students: A Qualitative StudyOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar11. Cultural Orientation, Ethnic Affiliation, and Negative Daily Occurrences: A Multidimensional Cross-Cultural Analysis.Online publication date: 1 January 2004. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar12. Acculturative Hassles and Immigrant Adolescents: A Life-Domain Assessment for Soviet Jewish RefugeesOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar13. Aerobic fitness and leisure physical activity as moderators of the stress-illness relationOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar Volume 16Issue 4Dec 1997 Information© 1997 Guilford Publications Inc.PDF download

Irrational beliefs that can lead to academic failure for African American middle school students who are academically at-risk

This article describes how rational emotive behavior therapy and other cognitive-behavioral therapies can be used to improve the achievement of academically at-risk African American students at the middle-school level. Definitions of at-risk and a review of relevant literature are provided. This article offers an outline of several main irrational beliefs that can lead to academic failure for African American students at the middle-school level. This author suggested that escalating preferences for justice, acceptance within the African American community, and acceptance by European Americans are at the core for causing academic failure for many of these students. The author describes empirical data which show that once these students learn a realistic philosophy of life—to be more rational, tolerant, nonutopian, and nondemanding—the students improve in their academic self-concept and achievement.

A Prospective Analysis of the Influence of Parents' Behaviors and Values on the Adjustment of African-American Middle School Students

A Prospective Analysis of the Influence of Parents' Behaviors and Values on the Adjustment of African-American Middle School Students

Aggression and fighting behavior among African-American adolescents: individual and family factors.

This study examined the extent to which individual and family factors are associated with aggression and fighting behavior among African-American middle school adolescents. Four hundred thirty-six African-American boys and girls from two middle schools in a predominantly low-income North Carolina school system were surveyed and their school records examined. Information was collected concerning students' aggression levels, school fighting behavior, school suspensions for fighting, attitudes toward violence, perceptions of their families' attitudes toward violence, weapon-carrying behavior, and sociodemographics. Multivariate analyses were employed to predict the students' aggression levels, fighting behavior, and school suspensions. Factors related to the individual adolescents, such as gender, age, weapon-carrying behavior, and attitudes toward violence, were associated with students' reports of aggression and fighting behavior. Factors related to family and school were associated with school suspension for fighting. This study suggests that violence prevention programs set in our elementary and middle schools may reduce aggression and fighting among our youth. School teachers and public health practitioners are encouraged to work together in understanding and preventing adolescent violence.

Physical growth, nutritional status, and dietary intake of African-American middle school students from Philadelphia.

As part of an integrated program of academically based participatory action research, measurements of nutritional status and dietary intakes were collected from 11- to 15-year-old African-American youth attending an innercity Philadelphia middle school. Statures and weights were collected on 136 individuals and 24-hr recalls, distributed across the week, on 113. Using the U.S. reference data, statures were not significantly different from U.S. age/sex means, but weights were significantly greater. With the U.S. Black population (NHANES I and II) serving as a reference for the body mass index, 23.5% of the sample were classed as obese, with a BMI >90th centile. This is greater than has been reported for Philadelphia Whites, for U.S. Blacks in general, or for other samples from the U.S. and Canada. Intakes of vitamins were at or above two-thirds of RDAs except for vitamin D, with a median of 28.1% of the recommended allowance. Low intakes were also recorded for dietary fiber (36.9% RDA) and zinc, with a median intake of 63% RDA. The median intake of fat was 101.3% RDA, of saturated fat, 102.2% RDA, of cholesterol, 76% RDA, and of polyunsatured fat, 48.2% RDA. The median intake of sodium was 2701 mg, 112.5% RDA. Overall, the data indicate a population with a very high prevalence of obesity, and diets high in saturated fat and low in polyunsaturated fat. Also of potential concern is the indication of low intakes of zinc and high intakes of sodium. Given the increased health risks of urban African-Americans, these findings on young adolescents suggest the need to develop programs designed to improve diets and enhance health in general in this age group. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.