Culturally Distinctive and Academic Socialization: Direct and Interactive Relationships with African American Adolescents' Academic Adjustment

• NCJ Number: 229729
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2010 Pages: 199-212
• Author(s): Shauna M. Cooper; Ciara Smalls
• Date Published: February 2010
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1F31HD046414-01
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study explored the relationship between aspects of African-American parents' academic and culturally distinct socialization and their influence on academic adjustment of African-American adolescents.

Abstract

Theories of ethnic minority development have largely suggested that African-American parents engage in a combination of practices that include culturally distinctive socialization as well as behaviors that are characteristic of more universal forms of academic socialization. However, few studies have examined how these socialization dimensions interact to influence the academic adjustment of African-American adolescents. The current study explored the independent and interactive roles of parental academic and culturally distinctive socialization on the academic adjustment of African-American adolescents. The sample was comprised 144 African American adolescents (M = 12.4; SD = 1.14; 56 percent female). Findings provided partial support that cultural and academic socialization were independently associated with indicators of academic adjustment. However, the interaction between these dimensions also was associated with youths' adjustment in the academic domain. Tables, figures, and references (Published Abstract)