AFRICAN AMERICAN SUCCESS FOUNDATION 

African American Success Foundation

Prepared by:

Lydia Donaldson Tutt-Jones Memorial Research Grant Recipient

Zena R. Mello, M.S.

The Pennsylvania State University

Department of Human Development and Family Studies

African American Success Foundation

Copyright Ó 2002

The African American Success Foundation sincerely appreciates their support of our Information Clearinghouse program.

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

It is our pleasure to provide you with a copy of our latest research that identifies contributors to African American success. You may know that there is a dearth of information that documents the attitudes and behaviors of African Americans who are excelling in various endeavors. Historically, well-meaning individuals and organizations have supported studies that they hope will "fix" the problems of African Americans by investigating the root causes of failures and proposing strategies to prevent these problems in the future. The African American Success Foundation (AASF) believes there is another way to do this.

Founded in 1997, AASF is a 501 (c) (3), not-for-profit tax-exempt organization whose mission is to promote the positive image of African Americans. AASF is dedicated to the collection and dissemination of information regarding African American achievements. Our goals are to aid in the replication of those successes and to ensure their accurate portrayal in the global community. Our activities include:

Information clearinghouse — Providing the public with information about the diverse and broad-based achievements of African Americans.

Scientific research/think tank — Identifying the attitudes and behaviors that make African Americans successful.

Charitable support — Using Black philanthropy to encourage graduate students and professionals to build the science of success by studying African American success issues.

 

AASF provides grants to support research which studies attitudes and behaviors that contribute to high academic achievement and professional accomplishments by African Americans. By documenting the success of high achievers, social scientists and policy makers have the tools to implement private initiatives and government programs that foster high achievement and positive outcomes.

The following report, Tomorrow’s Forecast: Future Orientation As A Protective Factor Among Low-Income African American Adolescents, examines the importance of being able to visualize oneself as successful in the future. Youngsters who develop a clear view of themselves as finishing school and attaining further goals in life are more likely to be those who excel academically.

AASF is proud to support this research and looks forward to providing future scientific reports that add to our understanding of African American success.

We look forward to your support of the goals of the African American Success Foundation.

Sincerely,

Douglas C. Lyons E. Carol Webster, Ph.D.

Douglas C. Lyons, Chairperson Dr. E. Carol Webster, President and CEO

Ms. Mello is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, where she also received a Master’s of Science degree in 2000. She has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and was honored with College Service Award upon graduation in 1994. In 2000, she was selected for an Educational Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Foundation and a Volunteer Award from Stormbreak Runaway and Homeless Shelter in Pennsylvania for her years of dedication and volunteer work with runaway and homeless adolescents. Ms. Mello is a member of Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society, the Society for Research on Adolescence, and the Society for Research on Child Development. Her research focuses on the future orientation and identity formation of low-income and ethnic minority adolescents.

Prepared by

Zena R. Mello, M.S.

July, 2001

Dena Phillips Swanson, Ph.D.

Faculty Mentor

The Pennsylvania State University

Department of Human Development and Family Studies

Overview

This report summarizes findings from an investigation of the relationship between academic achievement and future orientation among low-income African American adolescents. This study highlights the academic achievement of African American adolescents and draws from a resilience theoretical perspective. Resilience research emphasizes positive adaptation to stress and adversity and utilizes a strength-based model (Spencer, Cole, Dupree, Glymph, & Pierre, 1993). This research illuminates adolescents’ academic and future-oriented strengths despite challenges they may face due to low-socioeconomic status (SES).

The report is organized as follows. First, a brief introduction is provided including an overview of the literature reviewed. Second, the methods are described, followed by a review of the major findings. Finally, conclusions are drawn regarding the major findings and the implications of this research for prevention and intervention programs.

I. Introduction

African American adolescents are more likely to experience persistent poverty than other youth (McLoyd, 1998). Low-income children, on average, perform less well than children from middle and high income families, on numerous indicators of academic achievement including standardized tests, high school graduation, and completed years of schooling (Hill & Sandfort, 1995; Keating, 1990; McLoyd, 1998). Academic achievement is a strong indicator of occupational attainment in adulthood, where research suggests that the number of completed years of schooling is the single largest predictor of adult occupation (Entwisle, 1990). Academic achievement disparities have been documented between ethnic minority groups. Some gender differences also exist in academic achievement, where females have been found to have a higher grade point average than males (Ford & Harris, 1997). For these reasons it is imperative to examine adolescents who are negotiating challenges associated with academic achievement in low-income contexts. Once identified, protective mechanisms that indicate resiliency may be used to develop effective intervention programs. Towards this aim, this study examined the role of future orientation as an indicator of resiliency among low-SES African American adolescents.

Future orientation was defined as one’s expectations and the degree to which one is thoughtful about their future. This definition draws from Nurmi (1991), where future orientation is a multidimensional concept that includes such dimensions as planning, realism, and a sense of control. Future orientation is important for adolescents because it is related to decisions about one’s education, career, and family (Havighurst, 1972; Nurmi, 1991; Seginer, 1988). Future orientation is also positively related to academic achievement. For example, Zimbardo & Boyd (1999) reported that grade point average and hours of studying per week were positively related to future orientation in a study of college students. Israelashvili (1997) also found that 5^th through 12^th grade students’ future expectations were positively related to school adjustment and school membership.

Future orientation also may play an important role as a protective factor in promoting resiliency for youth facing adversities related to low-SES. Some empirical evidence exists to support this notion. Wyman, Cowen, Work, & Kerley (1993) concluded that thinking about the future or having a positive future orientation was related to enhanced socioemotional development and school adjustment in a longitudinal study of 136 9-11 year old children living in poverty. In another study, Wyman (1992) and colleagues found that positive expectations for the future were related to resilient children. Resilience research emphasizes those mechanisms that enable some individuals to weather adversity successfully and is useful for exploring future orientation as a protective factor.

Although conceptual frameworks suggest future orientation may be an indicator of resiliency, very little of the existing literature on future orientation has included ethnic minority participants (Nurmi, 1991). An exception is the recent work by McCabe and Barnett (2000) who found that 6^th grade urban African American students had better developed ideas and plans about their future careers compared to their ideas about family relationships. Yet, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of African American adolescents’ future orientation. Focusing on the strengths of African American adolescents who face challenges related to low-SES will greatly contribute to our understanding of these youth and may ultimately lead to the development of effective intervention programs. Therefore, this study addresses the following research questions:

· What is the future orientation of low-income African American adolescents?

· How is academic achievement related to the future orientation of low-income African American adolescents?

· Are there gender differences in African American adolescents future orientation and academic achievement?

 

II. Methods

The data were drawn from a longitudinal study addressing resiliency among low-income adolescents: Promoting Academic Competence (PAC; Spencer, 1988). Approximately 3,000 adolescents completed a twenty-minute self-report survey. Students came from four middle schools in a large southeastern urban city. From this sample, students were randomly selected to participate in the project. The student population of the middle schools was primarily African American. Three of the four middle schools had a student population of over 90 percent African American. The fourth school included over 60 percent African American students. According to parent-reported family income information and free school lunch participation, 58 percent of the subjects’ families met federal poverty guidelines. Over 40 percent of the students were at least one standard deviation below the national poverty level for a family of four.

Each student completed a battery of group-administered surveys. Surveys were administered during the academic year. The surveys were read to respondents to control for varying levels of reading ability. The majority of the survey administrators were the same race as the participants. The demographic data collected were part of an in-home parental interview conducted in the third year of the study.

The original sample included 370 boys and 192 girls in 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades. Participants’ ages at the onset of the study ranged from 11 to 15 years. The data used for this study came from measures administered to students participating in the fifth year of the study including 332 African American 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grade students, 280 males and 125 females. Thirty-three percent of the adolescents lived in mother headed households.

Measures

Future orientation was assessed by a measure consisting of 23 items (a = .89). The measure ascertains adolescents’ perception of their future accomplishments and experiences in the domains of education, occupation, self, family, and the community. Students were asked "Ten years from now how likely…" are particular events to occur. Items included such events as "have a high school diploma/GED, have a good job, have a positive attitude towards life." The response category was the likelihood of various experiences occurring in ten years, rated on a four-point scale, ranging from "not thought about it" to "very likely to occur."

Demographic variables included grade, gender, and SES. Grade represents the students’ year in school including 10^th, 11^th, or 12^th. Gender was self-reported by the participant. SES was obtained by the participants’ parents in the third year of the study. The variable consists of mother’s and father’s education in average years and mother’s occupation. Mother’s occupation was based on census criterion for occupation classification. Father’s occupation was not included due to the low number of reported cases.

Academic Achievement was measured by the adolescents’ high school grade point average (GPA). The score was an average of the adolescents’ performance in English, Social Studies, Math, and Science, obtained from school records.

III. Results

To summarize the findings of this research the major results are presented below. The findings begin with a description of the future orientation of these African American adolescents. Second, the relationship between future orientation and academic achievement is outlined, followed by emergent gender differences.

What is the future orientation of low-income African American adolescents? Reviewing the frequencies per item on the future orientation measure shows that a majority of these adolescents have a positive future orientation in several key domains of their life (See Figure 1). Specifically, more than 70 percent of the participants reported that some life events were "somewhat" or "very likely" to occur. Life events incorporated personal, educational, and community-level domains. In regards to the personal domain, items included be proud of yourself, have a positive attitude toward life and be a role model for youth. In the educational domain having a high school diploma or GED and having a college degree were included. In the area of community, items included play a positive role in your community, support the community you now live in, and be a support for senior citizens. Overall, these African American adolescents had a positive future orientation across several domains of their life.

The second research question addressed future orientation as an important indicator of resiliency. There were two main findings: Future orientation significantly predicted academic achievement, while controlling for demographic variables and females were more future-oriented than males about their occupation. In addition, an interesting relationship between future orientation, academic achievement, and gender was identified. Mainly, African American males were much more likely to be low in both academic achievement and future orientation than their female peers. In sum, the following findings were observed from the data:

· More than 70% of the African American adolescents’ future orientation included positive expectations in personal, educational, and community-level domains.

· African American females and males were similarly high in their future orientation in education and self domains.

· Females were more likely to expect to have a good job in ten years compared to males.

· Overall, more males were low in future orientation compared to females. Mainly, 40% of the males were low in future orientation compared to only 10% of the females.

· Students with a high future orientation also had a higher grade point average (GPA) than those students who were low in future orientation.

· Future orientation predicted academic achievement (GPA), while controlling for SES, grade, and gender.

· Females high in future orientation had the highest GPA, followed by males with high future orientation, females with low future orientation, and the lowest GPA found for males with low future orientation (See Figure 2).

 

 

To further examine future orientation case profiles were developed (See Table 1). Four participants, 2 male and 2 female, were selected for analysis, who were high and low in future orientation. Examining the four participants illustrates the main findings of the study. Those students high in future orientation were also higher in academic achievement and SES compared to their peers lower in future orientation. The case profiles also suggest a complicated relationship between future orientation, SES, and academic achievement. For example, the highest future-oriented male has the lowest SES value than any other case. This example suggests that in some instances future orientation may be functioning as a moderator: future orientation may be lessening the adversity of low-SES.

The generalizibility of the results should also be considered. The results of this research are applicable to those African American adolescents who are developing in high-risk urban environments. The results, however, may also apply to adolescents within other ethnic groups who develop in similar communities. In addition, SES and ethnicity were confounded because the participants were all African American and from a primarily low-SES. Therefore, the results do not represent all African American or all low-SES adolescents.

IV. Conclusion & Implications

This section is organized as follows. First, future orientation as an indicator of resiliency is discussed. Second, gender differences in African American adolescents’ future orientation and academic achievement are described. Third, implications of this research for prevention and intervention programs are outlined.

This study sought to explore future orientation as an indicator of resiliency. The results of this research suggest that future orientation is positively related to academic achievement and negatively to SES. The data suggest that future orientation significantly predicts academic achievement even after accounting for major demographic variables including grade, gender, and SES. The findings indicate that the extent to which African American adolescents are engaged in thinking about their future is related to their academic achievement.

Academic accomplishments are important for navigating the transition to gainful employment in adulthood. School policies and practices often inhibit efforts of minority students to prepare educationally for a successful school to work transition in adulthood. Systematic school-linked barriers facing minority youths, and particularly males, often result in repeated academic failure and discouragement regarding future occupational prospects (See Swanson & Spencer, 1999). Thus, investigating the future orientation and academic achievement of African American adolescents remains an important area of study.

Gender differences in African American adolescents’ future orientation toward occupation were also observed. Females were more likely to be future oriented about their occupation than males. The gender differences identified may be related to issues including social and contextual influences and differential treatment by race and gender (Spencer et al, 1993). Wilson (1991) posits that the weak labor force attachment of some poor communities influences individuals’ self-efficacy and in turn the extent to which individuals think they can get ahead in life. Wilson’s (1997) ethnographic data also suggest that "in addition to the discrimination that African Americans face due to ethnic membership there are also discriminatory patterns based on gender, where employers have a clear preference for black females over black males" (p. 118). Thus, low-income African American adolescents may have a foreshortened future orientation about occupation due to the adversities of differential treatment (i.e., discrimination) and their social contexts (i.e., limited opportunities). A 19 year-old Hispanic male participating in Doucette-Gates’ (1999) research illustrates this point:

"I don’t have no time to think about the future, having all those pressures coming up, worry about somebody knocking you off or worrying about whether they come to rob your house or hurt your family" (p. 63).

 

There are prevention programs targeting aspects of future orientation that may be potentially useful for low-income adolescents. An example of one such program comes from Danish’s (1997) prevention program entitled, Going for the Goal. Two components of this program teach adolescents to identify positive life goals and to focus on the process, not the outcome, of goal attainment. The results of this prevention program have been very encouraging and include such findings as participants having better school attendance and the ability to achieve the goals they have set compared to non-participants. For males in particular, participants reported a decrease in violent and other problem behavior. Overall, prevention programs that include aspects of future orientation may be beneficial for adolescents in providing thoughtful and positive plans for their futures.

In conclusion, the present study suggests that future orientation is an important element in the lives of low-SES African American adolescents, particularly as they prepare for the transition into adulthood. The results of this research seeks to contribute to our knowledge of the positive strategies that some low-SES African American adolescents may have in overcoming the challenges associated with low-SES and may ultimately aid in the development of more effective intervention programs that will help the future lives of low-SES African American adolescents.

References

The African American Success Foundation

The annual National Success Summit and Jazz Benefit.

The Lydia Donaldson Tutt-Jones Memorial Research Grant.

How you can help.