African American adolescents: adaptational processes and socioeconomic diversity in behavioural outcomes

Abstract

The study was concerned with determining the relationship of economic diversity to stress reactivity. Parental ratings of competence and behavioural problems were obtained for very young adolescents following a long‐term and highly acute stress: the Atlanta youth murders. Intellectual and identity‐formation data obtained both before and after the crisis were analyzed with the parental ratings of youth competence and behavioural problems. Consistent socioeconomic status (SES) links between the manifestation of behavioural problems and the display of competencies were obtained; lower income (LI) youths manifested more problems and fewer competencies. The findings were more pronounced for LI males. Personal identity was a significant predictor of school competence. School self‐esteem was a predictor of academic performance. The manifestation of behavioural problems was significantly predicted by cognitive performance variables. The findings are discussed in terms of variations in adaptational strategies mediated by socioeconomic status and psychological factors.