Letting Go When Youths Are Alright: African American Mothers' Academic Involvement and Perceptions of Adolescent Talent

• In Event: The Role of Parents in Child and Adolescent Development

Abstract

Following stage-environment fit perspectives, we examined whether profiles of African-American mothers’ academic involvement existed, the extent to which these profiles predict to adolescent grades across adolescence, and the extent to which mothers’ perception of youths’ academic talent had a moderating role. Among mothers who did not identify academic talent, profiles indicating higher involvement exhibited higher grades in 7th and 8th grades. Among mothers who identified academic talent, profiles indicating low involvement exhibited higher grades in 7th and 8th grades. However, by 11th grade, the low involvement profile exhibited higher academic achievement overall. Findings indicate that African-American mothers’ parental involvement needs to align with their beliefs of youths’ academic competence and remain cognizant of the appropriateness of their involvement.

Authors

• Nestor Tulagan, University of California - Irvine

• Jacquelynne S. Eccles, University of California - Irvine