HANGING IN THERE - BEHAVIORAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND CONTEXTUAL FACTORS AFFECTING WHETHER AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS STAY IN HIGH-SCHOOL

This longitudinal study of 443 urban African American adolescents exam ined behavioral, psychological, and contextual predictors of staying i n high school. Behavioral factors examined in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades were attendance, suspensions, grades, test scores, and grade retentio n; psychological factors examined were students' engagement in school, their self-system processes, and their experience of support from adu lts at home and in school: Neighborhood composition and family economi c resources were included as contextual variables. Path analyses revea led that students who avoided risk behavior in junior high school and reported themselves as more engaged were more likely to remain in high school 3 years later; engaged students reported more positive percept ions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness in the school setting th an less engaged students did: students' reports of support from home a nd from school influenced the three self-system processes; males from more advantaged families reported less support from adults in their sc hool; females from poorer families reported less support front adults at home; males from poorer families were more likely to exhibit educat ional risk behavior; and males from less poor neighborhoods were more likely to stay in high school. Results are discussed in light of motiv ational and cultural-ecological perspectives.