The association of physical maturation with family hassles among African American adolescent males

Ethnic-Racial Socialization Among Mothers of Black and Black-White Biracial Daughters During the Pubertal Transition

Ethnic-racial socialization is a salient component of parenting in Black families. What is less clear is how Black families discuss ethnicity-race and social inequalities with pubescent children. We examined associations between pubertal timing and ethnic-racial socialization among mothers (M_age  = 42) of Black (n = 286) and Black-White biracial (n = 233) girls aged 9-12. Moderation by maternal stress about puberty was also examined. Results indicated mothers of Black girls who were stressed about puberty reported more preparation for bias; whereas both groups of mothers reported more cultural socialization. Early pubertal timing and high maternal stress about puberty predicted more cultural socialization among both groups and more egalitarian beliefs among only mothers of Black-White biracial girls. The findings highlight the importance of ethnic-racial socialization during puberty.

Comparing Associations Between Puberty, Ethnic-Racial Identity, Self-Concept, and Depressive Symptoms Among African American and Caribbean Black Boys

Research on pubertal development among Black boys is limited. Addressing this gap, we examined associations between three pubertal domains (e.g., voice change, hair growth, and perceived relative timing), depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, among a nationally representative sample of 395 African American and 164 Caribbean Black boys (M_age  = 15 years). Moderation by ethnic-racial identity (e.g., racial centrality, racial regard) was also explored. Results indicated that for both ethnic subgroups early voice change increased self-esteem; whereas early voice change increased depressive symptoms among boys who felt society views Blacks more negatively. Buffering effects of ethnic-racial identity also varied significantly between the two groups. Findings suggest that the meaning Black boys ascribe to their ethnic-racial group may explain puberty-linked outcomes.

Early pubertal timing as a vulnerability to depression symptoms: differential effects of race and sex

Robust evidence supports that girls and boys who experience early pubertal timing, maturing earlier than one's peers, are vulnerable to developing symptoms of depression. However, it has yet to be clarified whether early pubertal timing confers vulnerability to African American as well as to Caucasian adolescents and whether this vulnerability is specific to depressive symptoms or can be generalized to symptoms of social anxiety. In previous studies, one race or one sex was examined in isolation or sample sizes were too small to examine racial differences. Our longitudinal study consisted of a sample of 223 adolescents (Mage = 12.42, 54.3 % female, 50.2 % African American, and 49.8 % Caucasian). At baseline, depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and pubertal timing were assessed by self-report. Nine months later, we assessed depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, body esteem, and stressful life events that occurred between baseline and follow-up. Analyses indicated that early pubertal timing interacted with stressful life events to predict increased symptoms of depression, but only for Caucasian girls and African American boys. Results were found to be specific to depressive symptoms and did not generalize to symptoms of social anxiety. Additionally, there was a significant positive indirect effect of pubertal timing on symptoms of depression through body esteem for Caucasian females.

Discrimination concerns and expectations as explanations for gendered socialization in African American families

Discrimination concerns and parental expectations were examined as mediators of the relations between gender and parenting practices among 796 African American mothers of 11- to 14-year-olds from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study. Mothers of sons had more concerns about racial discrimination impacting their adolescents' future, whereas mothers of daughters had more gender discrimination concerns. Racial discrimination concerns, but not gender discrimination concerns, were related to lower maternal academic and behavioral expectations. Maternal expectations were related to mothers' responsiveness, rule enforcement, monitoring, and parent-adolescent conflict. The relations between gender and parenting practices were partially explained through mothers' racial discrimination concerns and expectations. These findings demonstrate the importance of contextual factors on African American family processes.

Relationships of Pubertal Development Among Early Adolescents to Sexual and Nonsexual Risk Behaviors and Caregivers' Parenting Behaviors

Using a school-based sample of Washington, DC, fifth graders (mean age 10.38, SD = 0.66) and their parents (N = 408), we examined associations of pubertal development with early adolescents' sexual and nonsexual risk behaviors and their caregivers' parenting behaviors; and of these risk behaviors with parenting behaviors. Youths reporting signs of pubertal development were more likely to engage in these risk behaviors than students reporting no signs. Pubertal development was not related to parenting behaviors; however, parents of youths who reported multiple nonsexual risk behaviors reported more parent-child communication about sexual topics. These results highlight the need to begin risk prevention efforts early, prior to pubertal development. Research is needed to understand how parents can help youths better cope with pubertal development to avoid involvement in sexual and nonsexual risk behaviors.

Racial pride and religiosity among African American boys: implications for academic motivation and achievement

The persistent underachievement among African American boys has led to increased empirical inquiry, yet little research considers within-group variation in achievement nor positive youth characteristics that help explain positive achievement outcomes. This study conceptualized culturally-based factors (racial pride and religiosity) as adolescent assets that would promote African American boys' achievement and also enhance positive effects of other youth assets (positive educational utility beliefs) on achievement. Our sample included 158 adolescent boys (M = 17.08) from a large, socioeconomically diverse suburban community context. Accounting for demographic background variables, educational utility beliefs were positively associated with academic grade performance. A significant educational utility beliefs and racial pride interaction indicated a stronger, positive association of educational utility beliefs with grade performance among boys with higher racial pride relative to those with lower racial pride. Also, there was a stronger positive association between educational utility beliefs and grades for boys reporting lower religious importance, but boys endorsing both lower educational utility beliefs and religious importance were at highest risk for low grade performance. Overall results suggest the importance of considering culturally-based factors in studying achievement motivation processes among ethnic minority adolescents.

School-Based Racial and Gender Discrimination among African American Adolescents: Exploring Gender Variation in Frequency and Implications for Adjustment

The present study examined school-based racial and gender discrimination experiences among African American adolescents in Grade 8 (n = 204 girls; n = 209 boys). A primary goal was exploring gender variation in frequency of both types of discrimination and associations of discrimination with academic and psychological functioning among girls and boys. Girls and boys did not vary in reported racial discrimination frequency, but boys reported more gender discrimination experiences. Multiple regression analyses within gender groups indicated that among girls and boys, racial discrimination and gender discrimination predicted higher depressive symptoms and school importance and racial discrimination predicted self-esteem. Racial and gender discrimination were also negatively associated with grade point average among boys but were not significantly associated in girls' analyses. Significant gender discrimination X racial discrimination interactions resulted in the girls' models predicting psychological outcomes and in boys' models predicting academic achievement. Taken together, findings suggest the importance of considering gender- and race-related experiences in understanding academic and psychological adjustment among African American adolescents.

Parents' ethnic-racial socialization practices: a review of research and directions for future study

Recently, there has been an emergence of literature on the mechanisms through which parents transmit information, values, and perspectives about ethnicity and race to their children, commonly referred to as racial or ethnic socialization. This literature has sought to document the nature of such socialization, its antecedents in parents' and children's characteristics and experiences, and its consequences for children's well-being and development. In this article, the authors integrate and synthesize what is known about racial and ethnic socialization on the basis of current empirical research, examining studies concerning its nature and frequency; its child, parent, and ecological predictors; and its consequences for children's development, including ethnic identity, self-esteem, coping with discrimination, academic achievement, and psychosocial well-being. The authors also discuss conceptual and methodological limitations of the literature and suggest directions for future research.

In the Eye of the Beholder: Subjective and Observer Ratings of Middle-Class African American Mother-Adolescent Interactions

Middle-class African American mothers and adolescents (n=81) participated in a dyadic interaction task in early adolescence (M=13.06 years, SD=1.27) and then again 2 years later (M=15.01 years, SD=1.27). Following the task, mothers and adolescents rated their own and their partner's support and involvement in the task; observers rated videotaped interactions for the same dimensions. African American mothers perceived adolescents' behavior in the interactions more positively than did observers, and both mothers and observers viewed mothers' behavior as more positive than adolescents' behavior. With observers' ratings controlled, early adolescents' more negative perceptions of their mothers' interactions led to less trust and communication with mothers 2 years later, but subjective understanding did not influence later ratings of conflict intensity.