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Partners, Parents, and Peers' Effects on African American Youths' School Achievement

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Partners, Parents, and Peers' Effects on African American Youths' School Achievement PARTNERS, PARENTS, AND PEERS' EFFECTS ON AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTHS' SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT Kenyatta Danielle Phelps A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December 2007 Committee: Monica A. Longmore, Advisor Mary Rizza Graduate Faculty Representative Peggy C. Giordano Wendy D. Manning Gary L. St. C. Oates ii ABSTRACT Monica A. Longmore, Advisor African American adolescent romantic relationships have received minimal attention in research, except for focusing on risk factors. Despite increasing interest in teen romance and outcomes, it remains unclear whether romantic relationships’ influences vary by race. Romantic relationships offer another lens with which to view African American academic performance, but the lack of research using African American daters has made it difficult to study this potentially important influence. Thus, using data from the Toledo Adolescent Research Study (n=848), I ask whether romantic relationship variables influence school grades and school engagement. In addition, are these relationships conditional on race? Finally, do separate models examining the influence of romantic relationships on the dependent variables produce different results for African Americans and Anglos? The major findings from this study suggest that partners’ school grades, perceptions of partners as caring and trusting, partners’ academic orientation, and sex with the partner predict school grades and school engagement. Multiple regression models using interaction effects find minimal significant differences with respect to the influence of romantic relationships on adolescents' academic outcomes. Examining models run separately by race, I find that partners’ school grades, sex with partner, and dating engagement predict school grades for Anglos; but none of the romantic relationship variables predict school grades for African Americans. However, sex with the partner predicts school engagement for African Americans; whereas partners’ grades, partners’ academic orientation, sex with the partner, and the perception of the partner as caring and trusting predict school engagement for Anglos. iii This dissertation is dedicated to my loving family members who are no longer here, Terrell Phelps, Rozella Hardy, William Howard, and Karen Phelps. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research would not have been completed without the thoughtful insight and encouragement from my advisor, Monica Longmore, and my committee members, Peggy Giordano, Wendy Manning, Gary Oates, and Mary Rizza. I would also like to thank the following individuals for their kind words of encouragement, guidance, money, gifts, advice, prayers, pep talks, home cooked meals, and general expression of love: Carolyn Sutton, Sidney & Rozell Goff, Kellie Roberson, Terrence & Anita Sutton, Janice Lashley-Haynes, Cheryl Perkins, Karlton, Kendall & Kaliya Fomby, Angelica & Anthony Brewster, Rasheem & Terry Sutton, Morcedai Burnett; Lisa Johnson, Rashim Upshaw, Karl & Ieesha Perkins, Otis Gowens, Jamal Carr, Jacquela Humbert, Sue & James Jones, Renata Harden, Della Higgs, Ramona Bell, Julita Edwards, Yuanting Zhang, Keydron Guinn, Antwan Jones, Catherine Mungai, Gerald Seals, Ralph Wood, Seneca Vaught, LaTrista Funches, Jason McCllendon, and Jennifer Duette- Goode. The achievement of my doctoral degree would not have been possible without you. Thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER I. ACADEMIC OUTCOMES AND AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS’ SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS ................................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER II. DATA AND METHODS.............................................................................. 51 Data…………............................................................................................................ 51 Measures…………………………………………………………………………….. 54 Analytic Strategy……………………………………………………………………. 61 Research Questions…………………………………………………………………. 62 CHAPTER III. ROMANTIC PARTNERS, SELF-REPORTED GRADES, AND RACE.. 65 Descriptive Profile for Total Analytic Sample .......................................................... 65 Descriptive Profile for the African American and Anglo Sample............................. 70 Bivariate Results for Total Analytic Sample ................................................. 74 Multivariate Results for Total Analytic Sample ............................................ 74 Romantic Relationships and School Grades……………………….. 74 Parenting and School Grades………………………………………. 78 Peers and School Grades…………………………………………… 81 Multivariate Regression Analysis with Race Interactions…………………. 83 Romantic Relationship Interactions………………………………… 83 Parenting Interactions………………………………………………. 87 Peer Interactions……………………………………………………. 90 Separate Multivariate Models by Race……………………………………... 92 vi CHAPTER IV. ROMANTIC PARTNERS, SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT, AND RACE ..... 105 Multivariate Results for Total Analytic Sample ........................................................ 106 Romantic Relationships and School Engagement………………………….. 106 Parenting Variables and School Engagement................................................ 111 Peers and School Engagement....................................................................... 112 Multivariate Regression Analysis with Race Interactions…………………………... 115 Romantic Relationship Interactions…........................................................... 115 Parenting Interactions………………………………………………………. 119 Peer Interactions…………………………………………………………….. 121 Separate Multivariate Models by Race……………………………………………… 122 CHAPTER V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION……………………………………… 133 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………… 142 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Table 1.1 Descriptive Statistics for the Total Analytic Sample by Race .......... 69 2 Table 2.1 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Romantic Relationship Variables for the Total Sample ............................................ 76 3 Table 3.1 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Parenting Variables for the Total Sample.................................................................. 80 4 Table 4.1 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Peer Variables for the Total Sample .................................................................................. 82 5 Table 5.1 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Romantic Relationship Interaction Terms for the Total Sample ............................... 86 6 Table 6.1 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Parenting Interaction Terms for the Total Sample..................................................... 89 7 Table 7.1 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Peer Interaction Terms for the Total Sample..................................................................... 91 8 Table 8.1a OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Romantic Relationship Variables by Race ................................................................ 96 9 Table 8.1b OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Parenting Variables by Race...................................................................................... 99 10 Table 8.1c OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for Self-Reported Grades on Peer Variables by Race .............................................................................................. 102 11 Table 1.2 Descriptive Statistics of School Engagement for the Total Analytic Sample by Race……………….................................................................................................... 106 viii 12 Table 2.2 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for School Engagement on Romantic Relationship Variables for the Total Sample ..................................................... 109 13 Table 3.2 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for School Engagement on Parenting Variables for the Total Sample........................................................................... 111 14 Table 4.2 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for School Engagement on Peer Variables for the Total Sample ........................................................................................... 114 15 Table 5.2 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for School Engagement on Romantic Relationship Interaction Terms for the Total Sample ........................................ 118 16 Table 6.2 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for School Engagement on Parenting Interaction Terms for the Total Sample.............................................................. 120 17 Table 7.2 OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for School Engagement on Peer Interaction Terms for the Total Sample.............................................................................. 122 18 Table 8.2a OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for School Engagement on Romantic Relationship Variables by Race ......................................................................... 126 19 Table 8.2b OLS Unstandardized Regression Coefficients for School Engagement on Parenting Variables by Race............................................................................................... 128
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