One of the most consistently reported challenges in the education literature is the underachievement of African American males at all levels of the education pipeline - from elementary and secondary schools through to postsecondary education. African American boys are falling behind and they are falling behind early. This research focuses on resources within the home environment that are available to support the educational achievement of African American boys. There are a number of mechanisms through which parental involvement in the home and at school may promote academic success that are being examined: parental involvement in school activities, expectations that parents share with their sons and for which they hold them accountable, and parental trust and support for both their sons and their sons' schools. This research sampled families of African American boys in the eighth grade attending Middle Schools in the North Long Beach area of Southern California. It employed a mixed methods approach in using both questionnaires and surveys for collecting data. Thirty two parents were selected at random and completed questionnaires about attitudes and behaviors related to the home environment that impact their sons' educations. An additional group of randomly selected parents were personally interviewed to gain more in-depth responses. The sample was then divided into two groups according to the STAR Math scores attained by eighth grade boys in the families responding. This measure was used as an indicator of academic success because the STAR test score determines the Math class level for children in the local school district - with those scoring above 325 advancing to Geometry and those scoring below 325 taking lower level classes. The results of the questionnaires and interviews indicate an overall relationship in both groups showing trust and high expectations as being very important in fostering academic success in African American boys in the eighth grade. The consistency of positive home structural factors contributed to the academic success of boys in the families studied in spite of negative factors such as economic deprivation, parental unemployment, previous parental incarceration and lack of transportation.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 1989. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-106).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-75).

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-78).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-51). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-51). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at New Paltz, 2006. / Also issued in electronic version. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-87). Online version available via the SUNY New Paltz Sojourner Truth Library : http://hdl.handle.net/1951/36487

BACKGROUND: Over recent decades, the nationwide prevalence of chronic disease among children and adolescents has been on the rise. Conditions such as obesity pose a significant risk to the physical and mental health of individuals in youth as well as in adulthood, as these health risks track into later years and increase in severity. Low-income and racial/ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by chronic conditions. In particular, African American (AA) youth are reported to have a higher prevalence of fair/poor health than their Caucasian peers. Compounding the effects of this racial disparity in health is the disparity AA youth face in SES, as many live in poverty. The individual and environmental influences associated with factors of race and SES contribute to negative health behaviors leading to poor health status among AA youth living in disadvantaged communities. Health disparities have been shown to manifest in the earliest years of life, therefore the monitoring of at-risk populations of children and adolescents is essential to identifying, addressing, and reducing poor health outcomes throughout the course of life. OBJECTIVE: To determine the health status of AA children and adolescents living in a low-income community using multiple health measures, examine the relationships between these health measures in AA youth, as well as to identify barriers to participation in a family-oriented health promotion program. METHODS: A total of 111 AA boys and girls attending a community fine arts program located in a low-income suburb of Chicago participated in the study. Data from anthropometric measurements, the 20-m Shuttle Run Test, and curl-ups were collected and analyzed to assess the health measures of Body Mass Index (BMI) and BMI Percentile, Cardiorespiratory Fitness (CRF), and Muscular Fitness (MF), respectively. Data pertaining to barriers encountered in attending a health promotion program were collected from 13 families who were active members of the community fine arts program and had participated in health promotion program. The cross-sectional survey consisted of questions pertaining to the different components of the intervention program as well as to family demographic information. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the entire study population was 34.2%, with 31.6% of boys and 34.8% of girls being classified as overweight/obese. 16.2% of youth categorized specifically as obese, with 26.3% of boys and 15.2% of girls being obese. 43.9% of study participants aged 10-18 years needed improvement in CRF, all of whom were girls. All but one boy reached the healthy fitness zone for curl-ups. Significant positive correlations were found between BMI and age as well as curl-ups and age, and significant negative correlation was found between CRF and age as well as BMI and CRF for AA youth. Of reported barriers, scheduling conflicts and time constraints were consistently most listed by survey respondents. CONCLUSION: Within the at-risk population of AA youth studied, despite high levels of MF, a large proportion presented with problematic health as indicated by the high levels of poor CRF and weight status observed, suggesting a need for intervention in order to address these health issues. An intervention program targeting youth within this and similar communities should take into consideration attenuating excessive program-associated expenses as well as offering more scheduling options and information on efficient food preparation and exercise.

No description available.

The present study was conducted to further our understanding of the correlates of and variations in perceptions of police treatment among African American adolescent offenders. Ethnic identity development can play a role in youths' sensitivity to stigma, but whether this finding applies to black youth involved in the juvenile justice system has not been explored. Although there is evidence for a robust association between perceptions of discrimination and negative psychological outcomes, there is a dearth of research that investigates a) the directional nature of these associations, and b) how associations vary as a function of perceptions of personal and group discrimination. Participants were 501 African American youth ages 14-18 who were adjudicated of a felony or serious misdemeanor in Philadelphia. Data were taken from annual interviews conducted over the course of four years. Increased ethnic identity exploration was related to the perception that police use biased behavior against people from different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore, there was a relatively stronger association between psychological distress and perceptions of police behavior among youth who reported taking an active role in making meaning of their ethnicity,. Finally, the results of this study support drawing a distinction between personal and global perceptions of discrimination, in that their links to psychological distress differed with respect to the direction of effects. Specifically, whereas negative personal encounters with the police lead to higher levels of distress, being distressed led to more negative global perceptions of the police. This study provides evidence that normative processes in adolescence, like ethnic identity development, operate much the same way among high risk youth (e.g., juvenile offenders) as in more normative samples. This is especially important given that the consideration of normative developmental processes in high-risk samples like juvenile offenders can have implications for rehabilitation efforts. Finally, the present research highlights the need for the education of law enforcement agencies regarding adolescent development and factors that might increase or decrease young people's willingness to comply with the law. / Psychology