Guided by ecological and integrative theories of child development, this article examined the associations between multiple systems of influence (school and family) and the educational aspirations of Black Bermudian adolescent boys. This study used qualitative data gleaned from semistructured interviews with students in their senior year at a…

Determines if skin-color perception in the lives of African American adolescents affects self-esteem and dating relationships. Findings from 123 adolescents show the existence of relationships between satisfaction of skin color and self-esteem and dating. Findings also show more males than females desired lighter skin tone. Implications are…

Investigates the factor structure of a measure of racial socialization attitudes for African American adolescents to determine whether the components of the construct are reliable and measure different phenomena. Four factors, based on research with 200 inner-city adolescents, were found to be very meaningful and moderately reliable. Development…

Evaluates a culturally specific curriculum addressing African Americans for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) education delivered to 339 youths in high school and junior high school in Los Angeles (California). Students in ethnically homogenous classrooms increased knowledge and behavioral intent more than did those in ethnically…

After summarizing differences in teen childbearing by race, this article addresses problems inherent in a comparative approach to understanding race differences. More meaningful measures of socioeconomic status are outlined, and how the social context approach might inform the literature or the role of family factors in teen childbearing years is…

Investigated predictors of African American adolescent sexual activity, testing an ecological model of risk factors influencing sexual activity. Data collected over three years indicated that risk factors at the personal, familial, and extrafamilial levels of adolescents' social ecology related to being a virgin or not. Males and older adolescents…

Examined characteristics of 12 substance abuse prevention programs serving African American youth. Findings indicated that African American youth exhibited lower use rates than most other ethnic groups, but by age 16-18 years, use was prevalent. Africentric principles and themes integrated into the prevention programs contributed to higher rates…

From the present study it can be inferred that blacks are at least as capable of assuming intrinsic orientations to achievement as are whites, and that such orientations relate closely to the intrinsic values associated with specific tasks. (Author/AM)

Assessed female juvenile offenders' perceptions of their existing family functioning characteristics and the quality of their relationships with their mothers. One test indicated that all of the family functioning constructs measured except communication positively related to the quality of the mother-daughter relationship. Another test indicated…

Administered the Index of Race-Related Stress (IRRS), previously used with adults and college students, to urban African American high school students. Results provided evidence of validity for the IRRS, particularly for measuring race-related stress among adolescents. The measure required some modification, including deleting some items and…

Examined the development of the Teenager Experience of Racial Socialization, which examines how students receive socialization about managing racism, cultural pride, and spirituality. Its five components reflect major themes regarding racial socialization. Data from African American adolescents indicated that these components demonstrated…

Examined the influence of systematic discussion of culturally salient content in family therapy on the engagement of African American adolescent males. Evaluation of videotaped psychotherapy sessions found that discussions of developmentally and culturally relevant content themes (anger/rage, alienation, respect, and journey to manhood) positively…

Reviews theories of depression relevant to research on African American adolescents (socioecologic, cognitive, family stress, and biopsychosocial), asserting that all four emphasize the role of oppression in urban black youth's development and that an integrated theory would assume this underlying construct as its core focus. Presents a…

Discusses coping and personal adjustment to chronic pain for adolescents with sickle cell anemia and presents a model of illness behavior for these adolescents. Offers a framework of disease severity and disease impact, and suggests using functional ability as an index of coping and personal adjustment. Contains 59 references. (SLD)

Investigated ethnic identity among urban adolescents using the revised Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure. Interviews with White, Asian American, Hispanic American, and African American youths indicated that Whites scored significantly lower than the other groups, whose scores were similar to one another. The similarity in measurement properties…