Researchers have traditionally evaluated success and achievement by examining prescribed constructs and their relationship to specific behaviors, performance skills, or cognitive abilities. The adolescents that have been studied were primarily from urban or metropolitan environments, and these studies did not factor in the influence of cultural context on variations in adolescent success strivings. This longitudinal investigation attempted to expand upon existing studies by not only focusing on a rural, southern high school sample, but also by allowing the students to generate their own criteria for defining success. A 12 category questionnaire, which was developed for this research project, and the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children were administered on two occasions to the same group of subjects. The first study (T1) was conducted at middle adolescence, when participants were ninth graders; the second study (T2) was conducted at late adolescence during the twelfth grade. At T1, 149 students, ages 14-16 participated. Eighty were African American (AA); 54 were Caucasian (C). At T2, 152 students, ages 16-19 completed the assessment. Fifty-nine in this study were C and 75 were AA. At both T1 and T2, participants consistently identified three criteria when they generated their own success definitions: accomplishments/recognition, personal attributes and work/career. This was true across the variable of race though some variation was noted in comparison of gender-specific responses. The most frequently cited component of success, accomplishment/recognition, was described as setting and achieving goals being their best, working hard and achieving fame. Comparison of self-concept scores between T1 and T2 showed a significant increase in self-esteem across variables of race and gender. These data provide a profile of rural, southern adolescents viewed from a cultural and longitudinal perspective. The definitions generated by these adolescents can be valuable in the assessment of their success oriented behaviors. Further investigations of adolescents' perceptions of success can contribute to the development of plans and strategies for parents, educators and counselors to assist adolescents with their strivings for success.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-7659 |
| Date | 01 January 1996 |
| Creators | Marshall, Deborah A |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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