Potential Avenue for Academic Success: Hope Predicts an Achievement-Oriented Psychosocial Profile in African American Adolescents

• In Event: 34.096 - MTCC Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 34.096-8 - WITHDRAWN: Black Youth in Urban Contexts

Abstract

In a sample of 117 African American students, we examined how well hope predicts five psychosocial variables—school belonging, academic self-concept, goal valuation, attitude toward teachers, and academic motivation/self-regulation—that altogether make up an achievement-oriented psychosocial profile. Results indicated that, after controlling for demographics and intelligence, the subscales of hope accounted for a meaningful portion of all five psychosocial variables, with the amount explained ranging from 17.2% to 29.9%. Given that several quick and effective universal hope interventions have been developed, these results suggest that hope may not only be a promising avenue to improve the achievement-related outcomes of African American students, but it could potentially play a meaningful role in the mitigation of the achievement gap.

Authors

• Dante D. Dixson, Wayne State University

• David Stevens, Berkeley Unified School District