SELF-EFFICACY AMONG URBAN AFRICAN-AMERICAN EARLY ADOLESCENTS - EXPLORING ISSUES OF RISK, VULNERABILITY, AND RESILIENCE

Data from the first year of a longitudinal study of 562 African Americ an adolescents were analyzed to examine coping methods and competence outcomes as measured by academic performance (national percentile rank ing [NPR] on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills) and academic self-esteem. With resilience conceptualized as adaptive coping, regression analyses were performed to test a model of risk and resilience that takes into account family and neighborhood characteristics, youths' perceptions of their contexts, coping strategies, identity processes, and achievem ent outcomes. With all measures in the regression model, significant p redictors of NPR for males were mother's education and academic self-e steem; predictors for females were mother's education, parental life d issatisfaction, youths' perception of family conflict, and academic se lf-esteem. Predictors of academic self-esteem for males were mother's education, negative life events, and youths' perception of family conf lict; predictors for females were negative life events and youths' per ception of family conflicts. The findings indicate that, as adaptive c oping responses, both academic self-esteem and academic achievement ar e responsive to particular protective factors. The authors suggest tha t prevention and intervention efforts should be sensitive to specific coping methods and abilities that could promote resilient outcomes.