School engagement among urban adolescents of color: does perception of social support and neighborhood safety really matter?
In this study we examined the effects of risk factors (perceived neighborhood crime/delinquency problems, neighborhood incivilities) and protective factors (teacher support, family support, peer support) on the school engagement of 123 urban adolescents of color. Age and gender were also examined to determine if different ages (younger or older) or genders (male or female) significantly modified the relationship between the risk factors and school engagement. Results indicated that perceived neighborhood incivilities was uniquely predictive of school engagement. Contrary to hypotheses, different levels of the perceived social support variables did not modify the effects of risky neighborhood conditions on adolescent's perceived school engagement. Age, but not gender, significantly modified the relationship between perceived family social support and perceived neighborhood crime on adolescents' reported levels of school engagement. The implications of the results for prevention and intervention programs that address school engagement among early adolescents of color are considered.
Daly
Brian P
BP
Department of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA. brian.daly@temple.edu
Shin
Richard Q
RQ
Thakral
Charu
C
Selders
Michael
M
Vera
Elizabeth
E
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012449:Safety; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014505:Urban Population