African American adolescents living in inner-city environments have been disproportionately affected by a variety of social ills. Evidence has linked self-efficacy to several positive outcomes in adolescence including ability to negotiate risk, academic achievement, and greater orientation toward the future. This study assesses multiple factors that might influence self-efficacy among female African American youth living in public housing developments. Results show that a youth's attitude toward deviance was positively related to self-efficacy. Peer influence was related to efficacious belief. maternal support was also associated with an increase in self-efficacy. Further, the quality of the mother-daughter relationship was important in predicting efficacious beliefs. Paternal behavior was inversely related to self-efficacy. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
This study examined how social control factors might contribute to criminal offenses among African-American and Caucasian adolescent females using Hirschi's 1969 model of social control. Secondary data was used from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Data were used for African-American and Caucasian girls from Wave I, resulting in a sample of 837. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship for attachment and commitment even though it was not in the predicted direction. Involvement and belief were the only statistically significant variables in the predicted negative direction. An interaction was detected between race-by-belief, race-byinvolvement, and race-by-commitment, but only race-by-involvement was in the predicted direction. Further research is needed testing this model.
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