Roberts Shani R, Lewis Rhonda K, Carmack Chakema
Department of Psychology, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, USA.
J Prev Interv Community. 2011;39(4):310-9. doi: 10.1080/10852352.2011.606403.
Over the past few decades researchers have begun to examine the importance of understanding positive youth development and the many contexts in which youth find themselves. The social contexts in which adolescent development occurs are varied and complex, particularly the development among African American youth. African American youth are faced with a number of challenges including living in single-parent homes, high teen pregnancy rates, and poor neighborhoods, yet many of these youth continue to thrive. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family structure (single-parenting) and adolescent outcomes such as educational aspirations and sexual activity among African American adolescent youth aged 12-17. Approximately 462 African American youth were surveyed. A number of positive results emerged; for instance, there was a negative correlation between family structure and educational aspirations. The number of parents in the home did not interfere with youth wanting to complete high school and go on to college (r = - .218, r² = .04, p < .05). The results also showed that as educational aspirations increased, the number of sexual partners decreased (r = - .141, meaning that the more adolescents reported a desire to complete high school, they were less likely to report having sexual intercourse. These positive results should be promoted among African American youth so that those faced with these challenges will note that others have overcome and accomplished their goals. In this population educational aspirations were important. Limitations and future research are discussed.
在过去几十年里，研究人员开始审视理解青少年积极发展以及青少年所处多种环境的重要性。青少年成长的社会环境多样且复杂，尤其是非裔美国青少年的成长环境。非裔美国青少年面临诸多挑战，包括生活在单亲家庭、青少年怀孕率高以及社区环境差等，但这些青少年中的许多人仍在茁壮成长。本研究的目的是探讨家庭结构（单亲家庭）与12至17岁非裔美国青少年的教育抱负和性活动等青少年发展结果之间的关系。大约对462名非裔美国青少年进行了调查。出现了一些积极结果；例如，家庭结构与教育抱负之间存在负相关。家庭中父母的数量并不妨碍青少年想要完成高中学业并继续上大学的愿望（r = -0.218，r² = 0.04，p < 0.05）。结果还表明，随着教育抱负的提高，性伴侣的数量减少（r = -0.141，这意味着青少年报告完成高中学业的愿望越强烈，他们报告有性行为的可能性就越小）。这些积极结果应该在非裔美国青少年中得到推广，以便那些面临这些挑战的人会注意到其他人已经克服困难并实现了目标。在这个群体中，教育抱负很重要。本文还讨论了研究的局限性和未来研究方向。
