1. How Familial Characteristics and Parental Gender Socialization Influences
the Divergence of Expectation and Aspirations in African American Youth
Nicole Taylor, University of California, Irvine
Literature Review
•While 82% of African Americans earn a high school diploma,7 the graduation
rate amongst black males is alarming with only 59% of them earning a high
school diploma.6
•42% of African American students are graduating from universities compared to
62% of white students.2
•Many research articles have found that racial discrimination is correlated with
the poor academic performances of black students.
- There are links between African American parents’ expectations that their
sons will experience racial discrimination and their sons’ own
expectations that they will graduate from college.5, 8, 9
- Contrarily, perceptions of gender discrimination from parents did not affect
African American females’ academic aspirations or expectations.10
•The current study seeks to create a better understanding as to why African
Americans have been underperforming by examining the relation between racial
discrimination and academic aspirations and expectations.
- Specifically, the research questions we were trying to answer were
whether familial characteristics and gender socialization influence the
expectations and aspirations of African American youth?
Methods
Sample
• Drawn from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Contexts Study (all
participants that did not identify as African American were excluded)
• 11th Grade, 51% male & 49% female
• SES: Middle Class
• Wave 3: n = 645, Wave 4: n = 556
Measures
Discrimination Variables
Salience of Discrimination (5 items, α = 0.72, M = 2.16)
“How often do you talk about discrimination you may face because of your race?”
1 = almost never 2 = less than once a month 3 = 1-3 times a month 4 = about
once a week 5 = a few times a week 6 = almost everyday
Youth Report of Parent Worry of Discrimination (2 items, α = 0.82,
M = 1.68)
“How much does your parent(s) worry that you will be discriminated against at
school because of your sex?”
1 = not at all 2 = a little 3 = some 4 = quite a bit 5 = a lot
Peer Related Discrimination (3 items, α = 0.83, M = 1.32)
“How often do you feel that you are not picked for certain teams or other school
activities because of your race?”
1 = never 2 = a couple of times a year 3 = a couple times each month 4 = once
or twice each week 5 = everyday
Youth Report Parent Expectations for Discrimination (2 items, α = 0.83,
M = 4.27)
“How good a student do your parents expect you to be in high school?”
1 = One of the worst students 2 = Not as good as most of the students 3 = Same
as most of the students 4 = Better than most of the students 5 = One of the best
students
Obstacles to School Attainment Involving Racial and Sexual Barriers
(3 items, α = 0.53, M = 2.30)
“Discrimination because of (CHILD'S) sex?”
1 = not at all 2 = a little 3 = some 4 = quite a bit 5 = a lot
Conclusions
•Recent news regarding police brutality makes this research of critical importance since
exposure to racist events has been cited as a positive predictor of depressive symptoms4 and
depression has an adverse affect on academic performance.1
•Surprisingly, variable “Youth Report of Academic Expectations” was not significant, which may
have been due to influential institutional variables that were not measured
•It may be that parents who tell their children that they will determinately experience racial
discrimination negatively affect the students’ self efficacy. To avoid this, programs should be
developed to teach parents how to have productive conversations about race. There also will
need to be a revision of education policies that promote institutional racism, so that students do
not have to grow up in an environment where their grades are negatively impacted by
discrimination.
Future Research
Research in the future should examine how school contextual factors such as teachers,
tracking, and zero tolerance policies relate to the academic aspirations and expectations of
African American youth. Specifically, there needs to be a better understanding about how these
contextual factors affect the development of African American oppositional culture. Ogbu
theorized that African Americans created a new culture to follow due to the discrimination that
has counteracted their high aspirations.3 More research needs to be conducted to determine if
this is true and if it is, further work should be done to determine factors that could help African
Americans feel confident enough to pursue their aspirations despite the racial discrimination
that they face. Further research should also investigate why African American males report a
higher salience of discrimination. It may be because males have been socialized to not express
themselves and this, in turn, negatively affects their school work.
Partial Correlation Table
Results
T-Test Table 1 Measuring Racial Discrimination
T-Test Table 2 Measuring Educational Occupation
• Females report that their parents worry more that they will experience discrimination
and that they have higher expectations for discrimination than males
• Males report more salience of discrimination in their communication with their parents
than females
• There was a positive correlation between salience of discrimination and parent
discrimination expectations
• Females report that they have higher academic expectation and higher academic self-
concepts than males
Acknowledgements
I wish to express my sincere thanks to Anne Marie Conley and Jacquelynne Eccles, faculty
members in the School of Education, for providing me with the necessary facilities for research
and for assisting me despite the short time period in which I proposed this project. I would also
like to thank Meeta Banerjee for being the Principal Advisor for my project and for guiding me
through my data analyses. I am also grateful for Jodi Quas, faculty member in the School of
Social Ecology, Jeanett Castellanos, a lecturer in the School of Social Ecology, and UROP
Counselor, Philippe Relouzat, for the valuable guidance and encouragement extended to me.
Finally, I would like to the UROP for the grant that allowed me to complete this project.
Academic Variables
Academic Motivation Beliefs-Understanding Materials (2 items, α = 0.72,
M = 1.65)
“If I try hard enough, then I will understand the material in my college courses (R).”
1 = strongly agree 2 = agree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = disagree 5 = strongly
disagree
Educational Utility (6 items, α = 0.45, M = 2.24)
“My education is giving me the basic academic skills I need (R).”
1 = strongly agree 2 = agree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = disagree 5 = strongly
disagree
Youth Report of Academic Expectations (2 items, α = 0.85, M = 6.29)
“If you could do exactly what you wanted, how far would you like to go in school?”
1 = 11th grade or less 2 = graduate from High school 3 = post high school vocational
or technical training 4 = some college 5 = graduate from a business college or two
year college with associates degree 6 = graduate from a 4 year college 7 = get a
masters degree or a teaching credential 8 = get a law degree, a Ph.D., or a medical
doctor’s degree
Academic Performance (6 items, α = 0.87, M = 1.90)
“I am confident that I can do an excellent job on the assignments and tests in my
courses (R ).”
1 = strongly agree 2 = agree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = disagree 5= strongly
disagree
Academic Self-Concept (7 items, α = 0.85, M = 5.22)
“Compared to others your age, how well do you do in other school subjects?”
1 = much worse than other kids 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 = much better than other kids
Importance of Education (2 items, α = 0.60, M = 3.78)
“Schooling is not so important for people like me.”
1 = strongly agree 2 = agree 3 = neither agree nor disagree 4 = disagree 5 = strongly
disagree