Citation

Amemiya J, Wang MT. J. Sch. Psychol. 2018; 69: 127-142.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology in Education, University of Pittsburgh, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Society for the Study of School Psychology, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jsp.2018.05.001

PMID

30558748

Abstract

Using stereotype threat and motivational resilience theories as the guiding frameworks, this study examined how African American adolescents' academic coping strategies (i.e., problem solving, help seeking, self-encouragement, comfort seeking, and commitment) were associated with academic achievement, and whether these associations varied by adolescents' gender and perceptions of school climate (i.e., school mastery goal structure and support for cultural pluralism). Data were collected from 274 African American seventh graders (M_age = 12.84 years; 55% female; 91% low-income).

RESULTS suggested that associations between academic coping and achievement depended on adolescents' gender and school climate perceptions. Problem solving was associated with higher achievement for males only. Comfort seeking was associated with lower achievement among females and for adolescents who perceived their schools to be less mastery-oriented. Commitment related to lower achievement among males who perceived less supportive school climates. Importantly, self-encouragement was associated with higher achievement among males who perceived greater school support for cultural pluralism. Replication analyses with White adolescents from the same schools indicated that these findings were unique to African American adolescents.

Copyright © 2018 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Academic achievement; Adolescents; African American; Coping; Gender; School climate