A SOCIALLY CONTEXTUALIZED MODEL OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN IDENTITY - POSSIBLE SELVES AND SCHOOL PERSISTENCE

Schooling, critical to the transition to adulthood, is particularly pr oblematic for urban and minority youths. To explore predictors of scho ol persistence the authors propose a socially contextualized model of the self. Strategies to attain achievement-related possible selves wer e differentially predicted for White and Black university students(Stu dy 1, n = 105). For Whites, individualism, the Protestant work ethic, and ''balance'' in possible selves predicted generation of more achiev ement-related strategies. For Blacks, collectivism, ethnic identity, a nd low endorsement of individualism tended to predict strategy generat ion. In middle school, performance was predicted by ''gendered African American identity schema,'' particularly for females (Study 2, n = 14 6), and the effects of social context appeared gendered (Study 3, n = 55). Balance in achievement-related possible selves predicted school a chievement, especially for African American males (Study 4, n = 55).