Self-regulation and self-worth of black children reared in economically stressed, rural, single mother-headed families - The contribution of risk andprotective factors

Risk and protective factors were examined to identify processes in rural, s ingle-parent, Black families that are linked with positive child outcomes. Results can he linked to the competency and resiliency models. Protective d omains promoted greater child self-regulation, with patenting protective fa ctors promoting greater self-regulation than child and community protection . Maternal risk had the greatest negative effect on child self-worth. Resul ts also revealed that protective factors moderate the relationship between risk factors and child outcomes. The association between risk factors and s elf-regulation was low when protection was high and was significant when pr otection was low. Furthermore, protective factors seem to insulate boys in high-risk settings more than girls in similar environments. These findings highlight the important role of protective factors in promoting successful development of Black children reared in economically stressed rural, single -parent families and the extent to which protective factors insulate and bu ffer risk factors that might otherwise compromise these children's developm ent.