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DATE DUE l DATE DUE DATE DUE acres a work . ®§15 08 ~ 3 EP 2 1 2008 6/01 c:/ClRC/DaleDue.p65-p.15 DIFFERENCES IN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND RELATED CONSTRUCTS AMONG ACADEMICALLY RESILIENT AND ACADEMICALLY NONRESILIENT AFRICAN AMERICAN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS By Morris Kenard Lewis III A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education 2003 ABSTRACT DIFFERENCES IN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND RELATED CONSTRUCTS AMONG ACADEMICALLY RESILIENT AND ACADEMICALLY NONRESILIENT AFRICAN AMERICAN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS By Morris Kenard Lewis III The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether academically resilient and academically nonresilient (as measured by grade point average) groups of African American undergraduate students exhibit significant differences in emotional intelligence and related constructs, which include emotional control, impulsiveness, optimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience. This study is important for several reasons. First, it contributes new information to the scientific literature regarding the relationship between affective variables and academic resilience. A thorough review of the literature revealed that only one empirical study examining emotional intelligence has been conducted on African American populations, which yielded significant results. Second, few studies on resilience have used African American college students as subjects. Thus, this study may help in understanding factors contributing to academic success, which may be useful to those working with younger populations. A sample of 129 African American undergraduate students were surveyed to examine relationships between participants’ academic resilience, as measured by grade point average, and their emotional intelligence and related constructs. Academic resilience was operationally defined as the ability to thrive and achieve above-average academic performance (3.0 or greater GPA) despite economic, sociocultural, and/or environmental challenges. Related emotional intelligence constructs were emotional control, impulsiveness, optimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience. It was hypothesized that academically resilient participants would differ significantly from their academically nonresilient counterparts in terms of emotional intelligence, emotional control, impulse control, Optimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience. Results indicated that there was a positive correlation between academic resilience and two subscales on the Resilient Attitudes Scale, Independence and Morality. However, no other significant correlations were found when examining the sample as a whole. To improve future studies on academic resilience, it is suggested that researchers use emotional intelligence scales that have been normed on large African American samples; identify and use an instrument that specifically measures academic resilience; use a more heterogeneous sample of African Americans from majority institutions; restrict self-report measures; use control samples for comparative purposes; use instruments that are not highly correlated with each other; expand cutoff scores (i.e., O- 1.999 = academically nonresilient and 2.0-4.0 = academically resilient); shorten surveys and provide better directions to improve participation and sample size; examine sociocultural, family functioning, and environmental variables; use qualitative studies to examine academic resilience; use multiple regression or path analysis to examine the data; examine grade inflation in higher education; and develop a single instrument extracting the most reliable and valid questions from the various instruments used in the study. Copyright by MORRIS KENNARD LEWIS III 2003 DEDICATION First and foremost, I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my mother, Lula Lewis. You are probably the only person who loves me more than I love myself. You encouraged me from day one and always made me believe that this was possible. As a single mother, you did the very best for all of us, and your efforts are reflected in this accomplishment. It has been stated that a woman cannot teach a man how to be a man. I disagree. You molded me into the man that I have become and continue to strive to be. To my father, Morris Kenard Lewis, Jr., who died on Super Bowl Sunday 2001, you are the smartest man I have ever known. I still admire the things you were able to accomplish in the era and environment you accomplished them in, given your young age. As a child, I imitated your every move. Unfortunately, you are not here to see the moves I have made. However, I will make sure that I do the things for my children that you would have done for us if the circumstances had been different. Although you are lying down, you are still and always will be the only man I look up to. May God bless you! To my sister, Michelle Antoinne Lewis, I have always admired your pure intelligence. I had to work hard to learn things, whereas it appeared that you had to work hard not to get bored. If I can achieve this, there is no reason why you should not, given the fact that intelligence comes naturally for you. I am looking forward to being at your graduation. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Dr. Gloria Smith, chairperson of my doctoral committee, mother figure, and friend, I am deeply grateful to you for supporting me in my personal, educational, and professional efforts. Your advice, guidance, and wisdom are untouchable. Thank you for standing by me through five years of good and hard times. I appreciate your unconditional and genuine regard for me as a person as well as a student, even when some people were trying to poke holes in my armor. Words can never describe what you mean to me personally. Because of you, I am the rose that grew from concrete! Your impact on my life and contribution to my growth are nothing short of beautiful. I will forever be indebted to you for your good will and commitment to students of color. To Dr. Lee June, member of my doctoral committee, thanks for your time, concern, wisdom, and support throughout this experience. You contributed significantly to my personal grth and professional development. The manner in which you conduct yourself should be taught to African American males across the country. To Dr. Marylee Davis, member of my doctoral committee, thanks for your time, energy, thoughtfulness, and support throughout this experience. Thanks for agreeing to serve as a member of my committee. You were my number-one draft choice. Your smile, experience, and expertise made this experience easier to deal with. To Dr. John Schweitzer, member of my doctoral committee, thanks for your time, patience, understanding, and support throughout this experience. Your statistical expertise was invaluable in helping me analyze the data. vi To Dr. Sonya Gunnings-Moton, member of my doctoral committee, thanks for your time, concern, and support throughout this experience. You kept me focused on the task and kept me relaxed along the way with your kind words and beautiful personality. A heartfelt thanks is given to Leah Hardwick for understanding me and supporting my efforts, as well as providing me with priceless unconditional love and emotional support. I found my one. Whenever you are ready, let’s do it! A profound thanks is given to Elvin Poole, Jr., my best friend and best man when I decide to take that walk, for providing me with sound advice on how to navigate this journey. Thanks for the loyalty and “true fiiendship.” In this day and age, it is hard to find a true friend. A distinctive thanks is given to Dr. Richard'Chiles, my undergraduate advisor, for pushing me as an undergraduate student to maximize my potential and for pushing me harder as a graduate student to maximize my intellectual capabilities. A special thanks is given to Rudolph Valentino Wilson, “The Godfather,” for bringing me into the Omega family. A special thanks is given to Dr. Hilton Thomas for being a positive role model and friend. Also, thanks for the professional advice and support. A special thanks is given to Dr. Thomas Gunnings for providing me with the opportunity to gain invaluable personal and professional experience. A heartfelt thanks is given to Dr. Eleanor Bossi for supporting my efforts and having a genuine concern for my well-being, professional growth, and development. A sincere thanks is given to Dr. Dave Novicki for providing me with sound clinical supervision and for being someone to talk to. You kept me at ease. vii A special thanks is given to Glenda Hammond for understanding that priority one was reaching my destiny. Thanks for the understanding, support, and encouragement. A special thanks is given to Dr. Charlene Patterson and Carmen Gear for providing me with the encouragement and inspiration to get this done. A warm thanks is given to Darius and Paula Cunningham and family for providing me with warmth, kindness, encouragement, friendship, and genuine hospitality during my stay in East Lansing. An expression of gratitude is given to Dr. Maxie Jackson and Kennetha McFadden for their support throughout this experience. A sincere thanks is given to Mark Freeman for being a solid friend and brother. You taught me what it means to be an “Omega.” Of all the members I have encountered, you are the most level headed. The friendship we have transcends the fraternity. I would also like to thank Sue Cooley Miller for making me look good! Finally, a profound expression of gratitude is given to all of those people who doubted me. You provided me with the discipline, motivation, determination, and dedication to continue this mission when I was low on energy, enthusiasm, and patience. “Let everyone know, whether they wish me well or wish me ill, that I will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any true friend, oppose any foe, to ensure my survival and success.” Adopted and slightly altered from John F. Kennedy, 1961 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY .................................................................................. 1 Background and Problem Statement ............................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................................... 5 Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 5 Importance of the Study .................................................................................................. 6 Definitions of Terms ....................................................................................................... 7 Overview of the Study .................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 9 Developmental Antecedents of Some African American Youths’ Becoming Delinquent .................................................................................................................. 9 Poverty ..................................................................................................................... 10 Prejudice and Discrimination........- ........................................................................... 17 Access to Firearms ................................................................................................... 17 Alcohol and Drugs ................................................................................................... 19 Anti-Social Groups .................................................................................................. 20 Exposure to Violence in the Mass Media ................................................................ 22 Parents’ Psychological and Emotional States .......................................................... 27 Summary .................................................................................................................. 31 Resiliency Theory ......................................................................................................... 33 Models of Resilience ................................................................................................ 4O Resiliency Studies Involving African Americans .................................................... 43 Major Criticisms of the Resiliency Literature ......................................................... 49 Theories of Emotional Intelligence ............................................................................... 52 Studies Involving Emotional Intelligence ................................................................ 57 Criticisms of the Emotional Intelligence Construct ................................................. 59 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER III METHODS ........................................................................................................................ 64 Research Hypotheses .................................................................................................... 64 Procedures ..................................................................................................................... 65 Recruitment of the Sample ....................................................................................... 65 Research Participants ............................................................................................... 66 Instrumentation ............................................................................................................. 67 The Emotional Intelligence Scale ............................................................................ 68 The Emotional Control Questionnaire ..................................................................... 69 The Life Orientation Test ......................................................................................... 71 The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale .............................................................................. 74 The Resiliency Attitudes Scale ................................................................................ 76 Data Analysis Procedures ............................................................................................. 77 ix CHAPTER IV RESULTS OF THE DATA ANALYSIS .......................................................................... 78 Descriptive Statistics ..................................................................................................... 78 Demographic Information ........................................................................................ 78 Grade Point Average ................................................................................................ 79 Birthplace of Subjects .............................................................................................. 80 Environment of Subjects .......................................................................................... 80 Age ........................................................................................................................... 81 Gender ...................................................................................................................... 81 Class ......................................................................................................................... 81 Mother’s Level of Education ................................................................................... 82 Father’s Level of Education ..................................................................................... 82 Household’s Combined Annual Income .................................................................. 83 Academically Resilient ............................................................................................ 84 Academically Nonresilient ....................................................................................... 84 Discarded Sample .................................................................................................... 84 Results of Reliability Analyses ..................................................................................... 84 Correlations From the Research Study ......................................................................... 85 Scale-to-Scale Correlations ........................................................................................... 86 Results of the Independent-Samples 1 Test ................................................................... 89 CHAPTER V SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, INTERPRETATION, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................... 93 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 93 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 95 Interpretation ................................................................................................................. 97 Implications of the Study ............................................................................................ 100 Resilience ............................................................................................................... 101 Emotional Intelligence ........................................................................................... 104 Limitations of the Research Study .............................................................................. 107 Internal Validity ..................................................................................................... 107 Reliability and Validity of Measures ..................................................................... 107 Generalizability of Results ..................................................................................... 113 Recommendations for Future Research ...................................................................... 114 Additional Research Questions ................................................................................... 123 APPENDICES A. Informed Consent Form ........................................................................................ 125 B. Demographic Form ............................................................................................... 127 C. Emotional Intelligence Scale ................................................................................. 129 D. Barratt Impulsiveness Scale .................................................................................. 131 E. Life Orientation Test ............................................................................................. 133 F. Emotional Control Questionnaire .......................................................................... 134 G. Resilient Attitudes Scale ....................................................................................... 137 H. Descriptive Statistics, Correlations, and Means .................................................... 140 I. Reliabilities of Scales and Subscales ...................................................................... 156 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 167 xi LIST OF TABLES l. Scale-to-Scale Correlations ........................................................................................... 87 xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY Backgmuncgnd Problem flitement Since the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, which opened the door for African Americans to integrate American school systems, educational opportunities for African Americans have increased. As a result of these educational opportunities, social conditions for African Americans have improved IU.S. Department of Education, 2002b). It is believed that African Americans are currently doing better socially, educationally, and economically than during any other period in American history. However, since the 19605, many problems still remain for African Americans. In particular, problems among Afiican American adolescents have either improved slightly, remained the same, or have become significantly worse. For example, currently, there are more African American adolescents in county jails, state prisons, and federal prisons than during any other period in American history (US. Department of Justice, 2002a). This is just one of the problems affecting African American adolescents. A historical overview highlighting research and statistics concerning the progress and stagnation of Afiican American adolescents from the 19605 to the present is given in the first section of Chapter II. This is important because the increase in African Americans of middle and upper-middle class status has caused some to believe that social conditions are better for this group. However, if one were to examine the unemployment rates of African Americans, he or she would discover that this is simply not true (U .8. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002). Consequently, African American adolescents throughout America are suffering a great deal, and research must be conducted to discover protective factors that will ameliorate the problems that exist within this population, in particular, academic problems such as high dropout rates, poor academic achievement, truancy, and aversive relationships with school administrators and teachers whom they perceive as oppressive. The plight of African American adolescents in American society is a national tragedy requiring immediate and direct action (Murray & Fairchild, 1989). Many African American adolescents experience poverty, discrimination, high stress levels, high unemployment rates, drug and gang-related violence within their communities. As a result, many African American adolescents resort to crime, drug abuse, violence, and a host of other delinquent behaviors to cope with the stressors and escape the painful realities they encounter in everyday life,iofien resulting in family, mental and physical health, and academic problems. In addition, many African American adolescents are overrepresented in the statistics on high school dropout rates, exhibit poor performance on nationally standardized achievement tests, and typically experience greater challenges in higher education (Ford, 1990; Gordon, 1995). Consequently, many African American adolescents drop out of school due to family problems, disciplinary problems, poor conflict-resolution skills, and drug abuse as a manner of coping and escaping reality, economic hardships, and violence. Because many African American adolescent dropouts lack the necessary skills to secure gainful employment, the drug trade seems appealing to them. Consequently, the lucrative drug trade has increased violence and murder rates among unemployed and uneducated African American adolescents who see no alternative ways to achieve the “American dream” (Short, 1997). Homicide is the most common cause of death for young African American females as well as males. The probability of a young African American female dying by homicide is four times that of a non-African American female. A young African American male is 21 times more likely to die by homicide than is a non-African American male (U .S. Department of Justice, 2000a). Not only are we losing African American adolescents in the streets, we are losing them in the schools as well. Some educators have ignored African American adolescents in the academic arena, believing they are unteachable, social welfare institutions are ill-equipped to respond to their various problems and unique needs, the juvenile justice system has failed to provide programs that will rehabilitate them, and the mental health care system has excluded them by ignoring their unique needs. Although there are currently more middle-income African American families and more African American college students than during any previous period in United States history, there are also more African Americans on welfare and more severe problems among the majority of African American youths who are neither middle class nor college bound (Neubeck, 2001). Current statistics indicate that, compared to 1960, more African American youths are unemployed, in the juvenile justice system, involved in substance abuse, committing suicide and homicide, and having children out of wedlock (Meckler, 1998; National Center for Health Statistics, 2000; US. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2000; US. Department of Justice, 2000a). However, although a significant number of African American adolescents find difficulty in negotiating their environment and the academic arena, there are those who defy the odds and excel academically. These individuals are able to transcend financial problems, stressors, and other Iess-than-desirable circumstances. These African American adolescents are considered to be academically resilient. For the purposes of this Study, the term academically resilient is used to refer to a student’s ability to achieve above average academic performance (3.0 or greater) despite economic, sociocultural, and/or environmental challenges, presented by an inner- city, rural, or suburban community. I selected inner-city, rural, and suburban African American students as participants in this study because research findings have suggested that there are higher rates of adolescent behavior problems (e. g., juvenile delinquency) among underprivileged populations (Felner et al., 1995). In inner-city communities, violence often is dramatically evident in nightly shootings, drug exchanges, gang violence, and prostitution. Many families struggle to keep their children from succumbing to the temptations of fast money and crime, as well as to prevent their children from becoming perpetrators or victims. These problems used to affect only inner-city areas; however, the problem of youth violence is no longer limited to urban environments. Domestic violence, hate crimes, sexual violence, and violence among peers pose threats to children and teenagers in every American community. No community in America is immune to violence, although the probabilities of involvement are influenced by race, social, and economic class, age, geographical area, population density, and other factors. In addition, despite heightened interest in and several decades of research on resiliency, several gaps remain in the scientific literature on this subject. First, most resiliency Studies have focused primarily on risk factors. Second, these studies have overexamined variables. Third, these studies primarily have used adolescents as subjects. Finally, resiliency studies have failed to examine affective variables as facilitators of academic resilience. Hence, this study was undertaken to contribute to the scientific literature by examining emotional intelligence and related constructs as facilitators of academic resilience in African American students attending a Historically Black College. Purpose of the Study My primary purpose in this study was to determine whether academically resilient and academically nonresilient (as measured by grade point average) African American students attending a Historically Black College exhibit significant differences in emotional intelligence and related constructs, which include emotional control, impulse control, optimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience. Drawing from the theory of emotional intelligence, I hypothesized that African American students attending a Historically Black College who have the- ability to control their impulses, maintain optimism in the face of setbacks and adversity, and resolve conflict will be more academically resilient, as represented by higher grade point averages, than will their counterparts who are deficient in controlling and regulating their emotions. Secondary objectives of this research study were to (a) contribute new information to the scientific literature regarding affective factors as facilitators of academic resilience, (b) examine factors that contribute to resilience in undergraduate population comprising African American students, and (c) examine the reliability of emotional intelligence and related measures within this population. Research Questions The concept of emotional intelligence implicitly assumes that individuals who are able to control their impulses, soothe anxiety, manage anger, and display optimism in the face of setbacks will be resilient. To guide the collection of data with which to test these assumptions, I posed the following research questions: 1. Do academically resilient and academically nonresilient African American students attending a Historically Black College differ significantly in emotional intelligence? 2. Do academically resilient and academically nonresilient African American students attending a Historically Black College differ significantly in emotional control? 3. Do academically resilient and academically nonresilient African American students attending a Historically Black College differ significantly in impulse control? 4. Do academically resilient and academically nonresilient African American students attending a Historically Black College differ significantly in optimism? 5. Do academically resilient and academically nonresilient African American students attending a Historically Black College differ significantly in attitudes reflective of resilience? Mame of the Study This research is important for several reasons. First, the study will contribute new information to the scientific literature. A thorough review of the literature revealed that only one empirical study has been conducted on examining emotional intelligence in African American populations, which yielded significant results. Second, few studies on resilience have used African American college students as subjects. Hence, as a result of this study, we may better understand factors contributing to academic success, which may be useful to those working with younger populations. Finally, significant results may warrant additional research and the development of modules to teach young African American students how to be emotionally intelligent. Definitions of Terms To facilitate clarity, the following terms are defined in the context in which they are used in this dissertation. fldemically resilient—the ability to thrive and achieve above average academic performance (3.0 or greater GPA) despite economic, sociocultural, and/or environmental challenges. Academically nonresilient—the inability to thrive and achieve above average academic performance (3.0 or greater GPA) despite economic, sociocultural, and/or environmental challenges. African Americagg—people having their origin in any of the Black racial groups of Africa (US. Bureau of the Census, 2000). Emotional intelligence—the ability to control one’s impulses, soothe anxiety, avoid depression, maintain optimism in the face of adversity, direct anger appropriately, respond well to the emotional reactions of others, engage in nonjudgmental listening and speaking, resolve conflicts in relationships, and Show concern and helpfulness towards others (Goleman, 1996). Inner-city—residential district located directly within a large city. 6 Protective factors— ‘Specific influences that modify, ameliorate, or alter an individual’s response to environmental demands, thereby reducing the chance of a maladaptive outcome” (Mrazek & Mrazek, 1987, pp. 358-359). Risk factors—“Characteristics of the individual, family, community, culture, or overall environment that may facilitate the development of maladaptive behaviors” (Garrnezy, 1993, p. 127). Rural—residential district located in the country. Suburban—residential district located directly on the outskirts of a large town or city. Overview of the Study Chapter I contains information regarding the statement of the problem, research questions, purpose of the study, importance of the study, definition of key terms, and an overview of what will be discussed in the following chapters. Chapter II is a review of the literature on topics relevant to the study. Developmental antecedents that contribute to delinquency in African American adolescent populations are discussed. Also, theories, models, and criticisms of resilience and emotional intelligence are discussed. Chapter III contains information related to the methodology of the study. The research hypotheses along with issues related to procedures, instrumentation, and the data analysis procedures are discussed. Chapter IV contains information related to the results of the reliability analysis, instrument scale correlations, and the findings of the study. Specifically, demographic information, correlations, and findings from the independent-samples t test are addressed. Finally, Chapter V contains a summary of the research. Specifically, the interpretation of results, implications of the study, limitations of the study, recommendations for future research, and additional questions are posed to facilitate thinking among researchers interested in resilience studies. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE This chapter contains a review of the literature relevant to this study. The chapter begins with a discussion of literature on the developmental antecedents of some African American youths’ becoming delinquent. Then, writings on resilience and emotional intelligence are reviewed. Specifically, theoretical frameworks, studies involving resilience and emotional intelligence, and criticisms of both theories are discussed. Developmental Antecedents of Some Afiicam American Youths’ Becoming Delinquent To find effective ways to prevent or ameliorate an adolescents’ propensity toward academic problems and other forms of delinquency such as violence and drug abuse, one must first understand the contextual issues that contribute to the problem. Although no definitive answer exists that would make it possible to predict exactly which individuals will experience academic problems or become delinquent, certain factors have been identified through empirical research as contributing to a child’s risk profile. Biological factors, childrearing conditiOns, ineffective parenting, emotional and cognitive development, gender differences, sex role socialization, relations to peers, cultural milieu, social factors such as economic inequality, lack of opportunity, and media influences are all thought to be factors that contribute to delinquent behavior (American Psychological Association, 1993). Povem It has long been established that poverty and socioeconomic inequality are major determinants of violence and delinquency. Violence and delinquent behaviors are most prevalent among the poor, regardless of race. Despite public stereotypes, it is likely that socioeconomic inequality, rather than race, leads to higher rates of delinquent behavior and violence among ethnic minority groups. Few differences among the races have been found in rates of delinquency when people at the same income level have been compared. But beyond mere income level, it is the socioeconomic inequality of the poor, their sense of relative deprivation, and their lack of opportunity to ameliorate their life circumstances that engender higher rates of delinquency. Poverty is not merely a lack of money. Economic deprivation defines the very context in which people live, in terms of access to information, healthcare (mental as well as physical), exposure to cultural and educational opportunities. In other words, to be poor in America is to be segregated, cutoff from the rest of the world, often in decaying inner cities, in which crime and threat of crime confine the poor to fear and isolation at best and to injury and death at worst. Violence rates in central cities are 41.3 per thousand, but in suburbs and nonmetropolitan areas they are 25.2 per thousand (US. Department of Justice, 2002a). In comparison to nonminorities, higher proportions of ethnic minority populations live in cities. Poverty refers to relative deprivation as well as absolute deprivation. Not only do the poor in America lack the basic necessities, but they also are aware that they do not have the things that most other Americans do. In addition, poor individuals lack the opportunities needed to obtain a secure future. Media depictions of other Americans who 10 are living “the good life” serve only to compound the already untenable conditions of poverty with a heightened sense of deprivation. African American children have always carried a disproportionate share of the burden of poverty and economic despair in America, and they are at a substantially higher risk than White children for experiencing an array of socioemotional problems (Hickner, 1999). The proportion of African American children living in poverty soared during the 19805. Between 1979 and 1985, the rate of poverty for African American children 18 years and under increased from 36% to 41%, compared to 12% to 13% for White children during the same period (Duncan, 1988). F elner et al. (1995) investigated interrelations among conditions of household socioeconomic disadvantage, proximal environmental experiences, and adaptational outcomes in a sample of 398 middle-grade, early adolescents from a predominantly poor, rural area. Findings of the study indicated that level of disadvantage was related to both socioemotional and academic adjustment, with those from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds faring most poorly. Specifically, youths from homes in which adults were employed in low-income, unskilled occupations were found to have lower levels of school performance and achievement as compared to those from homes in which adults were employed in higher paying semi-skilled or skilled/professional occupations. Furthermore, youths from families in which neither parent had graduated from high school exhibited significantly worse socioemotional and academic adjustment than did those whose parents had higher educational levels. Urban neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and rapid population turnover have higher rates of violence than poor but stable neighborhoods and stable affluent neighborhoods (Lynn & McGeary, 1990). Several factors might contribute to this 11 relationship. First, on an individual level, frequent changes of residence disconnect people from their support systems, and people living in highly mobile neighborhoods often experience a sense of isolation that causes them to feel restricted and hopeless. In addition, it is believed that some of the problems plaguing African American adolescents are a function of changes in the age structure and other recent demographic trends in African American communities. Despite the slight increases in the African American population and demographic trends in central cities, social problems affecting inner-city adolescents have become significantly worse since the 19605 (Hawkins, 1995). For example, although the African American population grew only moderately during the 19805, the period from 1960 to 1980 saw a dramatic increase in the percentage of African American adolescents living in central cities. During the 19605 alone, the number of African American adolescents ages 16 to 19 increased by nearly 75% in central cities, compared to a 14% increase in the number of White adolescents in the same age group (U .8. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1972). By 1980, more than half (56%) of African Americans under age 25 were located in central cities, twice the percentage of Whites in the same age group (US. Bureau of the Census, 1982). In 2000, the number of African American adolescents living in central cities stood at approximately 60% (US. Bureau of the Census, 2000). Accompanying these changes in the demographics of central cites, poverty, violence, unemployment, and drug addiction have increased (Fox, 2000). I. Q. Wilson (1983) argued that the dramatic increase in the size and concentration of African American adolescents in central cities had “an exponential effect on the rate of certain social problems” (p. 24). More specifically, abrupt and large increases in the number of African American adolescents created a critical mass in 12 central cities that triggered a self-sustaining chain reaction, resulting in “an explosive increase in the amount of crime, addiction, welfare dependency, and other social problems” (p. 24). According to Crane (1991), limited legal opportunities are the primary determinants of drug dealing and drug addiction, which lead to higher incarceration rates among employable adults and young adults. Because the African American adolescent population is expected to continue to increase significantly, these youths are likely to continue to contribute disproportionately to such social problems as crime, violence, teen pregnancy, unemployment, and drug addiction (Staveteig & Wigton, 2000). Changes in the age structure alone are not sufficient enough to account for the precipitous rise in social problems among African American adolescents in central cities. The major sources of their difficulties are rooted in fundamental changes in the structure of local economies and in the economic and social marginalization that has occurred in the inner cities during the past several decades (Darity & Myers, 1995b; Hoffman & Duncan, 1995; Wacquant & Wilson, 1989). Industrial decentralization, combined with structural shifts in city economies from centers of goods-producing or manufacturing activities to higher order service-providing industries, has severely affected the employment opportunities for inner-city African Americans, especially the job prospects of poorly educated African American adolescents. According to Kasarda (1989), such structural changes have substantially reduced the number of unskilled and semi-skilled jobs in those industries that have traditionally attracted and economically upgraded previous generations of urban African Americans. “ Loss of these employment opportunities, in turn, has devastating effects on African American families, which has further exacerbated the problems of the economically 13 displaced” (p. 27). Consequently, widespread crime, intractably high levels of poverty, accelerating physical decay, and unemployment have become prevalent (Kasarda, 1985). Unemployed individuals are at a greater risk than employed persons of being arrested and incarcerated. It has been estimated that about 30% of inmates were unemployed at the time of their arrest (Meyers & Simms, 1988). Furthermore, Freeman (1991) estimated that incarceration reduces men’s number of weeks worked by about 20% to 25% and probation/parole by about 10% to 15% percent. Moreover, survey data have indicated that one year after release, as many as 60% of former inmates were unemployed, which further increased the likelihood that these men would engage in illegal activities to support their families and thus increased the likelihood of their returning to prison. A substantial segment of urban African Americans are far more isolated and concentrated in extreme-poverty areas within central cites today than several decades ago. The proportion of all African Americans residing in extreme-poverty areas (i.e., census tracts with a population of at least 40 living in poverty), as Wacquant and Wilson (1989) found, grew substantially during the 19705, so that by 1980, “fully 38 percent of all poor African Americans in the 10 largest American cities lived in extreme-poverty tracts, contrasted with 22 percent a decade before, and with only 6 percent of poor non- Latino/a Whites” (p. 10). In contrast, in 1999, 10% of the nation’s young children lived in extreme poverty (National Center for Children in Poverty, 1999). Specifically, that equates to families with incomes 50% below the poverty line. Among young children, the extreme poverty rate is growing faster than the overall poverty rate. The growing spatial and socioeconomic segregation of the African American urban poor has been accelerated by the exodus of working-class and middle-income l4 African American families in record numbers from the inner cities to other neighborhoods in metropolitan areas and the suburbs (W. J. Wilson, 1987). These developments, in turn, have exacerbated the problems of African American adolescents by depriving them of those role models, support systems, and institutions that have been critical to success and mobility in the larger society. Chronic poverty severely constricts choices in virtually all domains of life (e.g., choices of neighborhood, recreational activities, and educational opportunities). Poverty also renders an individual more subject to control by others (e.g., social workers), and increases the probability that a child will be perceived negatively and receives less positive attention and more criticism from teachers and parents (Institute for Research on Poverty, 1998). Individuals who are poor are confronted with other negative life events (e. g., physical illness, eviction, violence, criminal assault, hunger, drug-infested communities, and separation from family of origin) in the context of chronically stressful, ongoing life conditions such as inadequate housing and dangerous neighborhoods that together increase the exigencies of day-to-day living. Due to the extremely limited financial resources, negative life events often precipitate additional crises, such that stressors are highly contagious (Casper & Fields, 2000). It is very easy to see how children who face these conditions on a daily basis succumb to depression and other types of mental illness. Dressler (1985) found that chronic economic stress (e.g., worrying about money, not having enough money for basic needs, and difficulty making ends meet) was the strongest predictor of depression among African Americans living in randomly selected households. 15 In October 1983, the United States Labor Department announced a decline in the overall national rate of unemployment to 8.8%, but unemployment among African American youths had risen to 48.3%, which was more than twice the 21.6% rate among all teenagers. In contrast, in 2000, the overall poverty rate was 11.3%, down half a percentage point from 1999. However, the unemployment rate for African American youths was 31% compared to 13% for White teenagers and 16% for all teenagers (US. Bureau of the Census, 2001). If African American youths are unable to find jobs, it is impossible for them to develop the work skills, habits, and attitudes that are necessary and imperative in a competitive, highly technological, and global economy. Recent studies have indicated that chronically unemployed African American males constitute a disproportionately high percentage of those workers who become discouraged and completely drop out of the job-seekers market. Without gainful employment, they will increasingly be tempted to participate in the underground alternative economy of the urban environments—the illegal system of prostitution, gambling, drugs, and stolen goods. The prospect of a rapidly increasing cadre of unemployed and unemployable urban youths socialized to a nonproductive life on the streets has major implications in terms of the development of a permanent urban underclass. Poverty has been linked to a variety of socioemotional problems in both African American and White children of varying ages. These problems include such difficulties as depression (Oxendine, 1999), strained peer relations (Reynolds, 1990) low self- confidence, conduct disorders, and higher levels of overall social maladaptation and psychological disorders (Petersen et al., 1993). 16 Prejudice and Discrimination A second factor contributing to academic problems and other forms of delinquency among African American adolescents is prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice and discrimination foster social and psychological difficulties for all vulnerable populations. Although many discriminatory laws have been challenged and overturned, others remain that continue to relegate African Americans to second-class status. Prejudice and discrimination are also expressed in countless acts of interpersonal behavior each day. This blatant type of discrimination fosters vast differences in economic status among the various ethnic minority groups and nonminority Americans. It also damages the self-confidence and self-esteem of those discriminated against and lays a foundation for anger, discontent, delinquency, and violence. Access to Firearms A third factor contributing to academic problems, delinquency, and violence among African American adolescents is their access to firearms. There is considerable evidence that the alarming rise in youth homicides is related to the availability of firearms. Between 1979 and 1989, there was a 61% increase in homicides by shootings committed by 15- to 19-year-old White and African American youths. During the same period, the rate of homicides by objects other than guns declined by 29%. Approximately 15% of African American adolescents in the 15 to 19 age group were arrested in 1979. In contrast, in 2000, the percentage of African Americans adolescents in the 15 to 19 age group grew to 25.1% (Federal Bureau of Investigations Crime Statistics, 2000). Further, African American juveniles were arrested more frequently for robbery, rape, homicide, and aggravated assault than were Whites. They were also more likely than White 17 juveniles to be arrested for violent personal crimes, disorderly conduct, sexual misbehavior, and handling stolen property. In 2000, African American youth committed 51% of the violent juvenile crimes in the United States and only 27% of property crimes (U .S. department of Justice, 2000a). Because African Americans constitute about 12% of the population and account for 21% of all juvenile arrests, it can easily be seen that African American juveniles are disproportionately more likely to be arrested than Whites. Whether or not access to firearms can continue to account for the widespread discrepancy between arrest rates of African American and White youths, the fact remains that African American youths are disproportionately involved in the juvenile justice system, resulting in severe limitations on their educational and occupational Opportunities and creating a vicious cycle of incarceration, delinquency, drug addiction, recidivism, unemployment, and maladaptation. Moreover, the primary victims of African American juvenile crime are the juveniles themselves and the African American community. In 1980, homicide was the second leading cause of death among African American youths in the 15 to 24 age group. In 1980 alone, more than 2,000 African American youths, ages 10 to 19, were murdered, most of them by other African American teenagers. In contrast, in 2000, homicide was the leading cause of death for African Americans in the 15 to 24 age group as well as the 10 to 19 age group, and it still is in 2002 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2000b, 2002). For Whites, the leading causes of death in both age groups were a result of accidents. In addition, the rate of victimization due to crimes of violence is generally greater for African Americans at all income levels and the victimization rate of residents of central cities is roughly twice that of residents of urban and suburban areas. 18 In 2000, 95% of those who committed crimes against African Americans were themselves African American, and the majority of these crimes were committed by youths under the age of 24 (US. Department of Justice, 2000a). Inner-city neighborhoods are increasingly being brutalized by youths who vandalize buildings, burglarize public and private prOperty, and terrorize the disabled, elderly, and vulnerable. According to the National Center for Health Statistics (2000b, 2002), firearms accounted for about three fourths of the killings by African American youths. It is unclear why young people carry guns. However, in some cases, carrying a weapon may be part of a youth’s bonding to a gang or to a drug dealer’s organization. Also, it is believed that some adolescents carry guns because they are afraid of others who have guns. Alcohol and Drugs A fourth factor contributing to academic, delinquent, and violent behavior among African American adolescents is their involvement with alcohol and other drugs. Drug abuse among African American youths has increased in the past 20 years. It has also spread from the inner cities into the suburbs, and the users have become progressively involved with “hard drugs” such as heroin and cocaine, which are tied to street crime. Moreover, a study by the Centers for Disease Control (1999) predicted an increase in drug abuse among African American and Latino/a youths because they constitute the fastest-growing segment of the population and because of their current usage patterns. In 2000, 28.1% of African American adolescents were arrested for drug-abuse violations, illustrating the relationship with delinquent behaviors, poor decision making, and drug abuse. In addition, alcohol appears to lower youths’ inhibitions against violent behavior (U .S. Department of Justice, 2000a). 1 9 In about 65% of all homicides, perpetrators, victims, or both had been drinking, and alcohol was a factor in at least 55% of all fights and assaults in the home (US. Department of Justice, 2000a). Other drugs also have the potential to contribute directly to academic problems and delinquent behavior. Drug use among teens is highly correlated to low school achievement, delinquency, and accidental deaths (National Center for Health Statistics, 2000b). Drug addiction inevitably involves teenagers in activities that will increase access to drugs, whether these involve stealing, dealing, or hustling sex in order to “get high.” Addicts lose interest in school and work, and family ties gradually deteriorate while “getting high” becomes the major motivation of each day as they become worthless or useless in their environment. In addition to creating economic problems, addiction also increases the risk of arrest and imprisonment, physical and mental illness, and death by overdosing among African American youth. Because some drugs are so addictive and expensive, many users of these drugs commit crimes involving violence to support their addiction. Also, because many drugs are illegal and valuable commodities, drug dealers frequently become involved in violence related to the marketing of drugs. Youths who are involved in the business of drug trafficking have a greater risk of becoming involved in violence as well as dropping out of school in order to capitalize on the lucrative drug trade. Anti—SocieiGrorms A fifth factor contributing to academic, delinquent, and violent behavior among African American adolescents is their involvement in anti-social groups. According to Jew and Green (1998), many troubled youths have fragmented families and support networks. Consequently, they are motivated to join gangs to meet the same developmental, social, and emotional needs that all youths are seeking to meet in order to 20 have a strong sense of connection, belonging, and self-definition. In the gang, they hope to find peer friendships, pride, and an identity separate from their families, self-esteem enhancement, status, excitement, and the acquisition of resources. The positive social identity they gain from group membership partly depends on the group’s perceived status and rank. In this respect, individuals act out to obtain group affection. However, only a small percentage of youths who join delinquent gangs and the absolute amount of violent behavior by gang members are small. Nonetheless, homicide and aggravated assault are three times more likely to be committed by gang members than by nongang delinquents (US. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000a). It is important to recognize this because many minority groups who are nongang delinquents are depicted as such by the School systems and other institutions. Consequently, these individuals are deprived of educational opportunities and often are turned off by educators, who are viewed as oppressors for the system. An estimated 26,000 gangs were active in the United States in 1999, down 9% from 1998 (US. Department of Justice, 2000a). Since 1998, the number of gangs has decreased by 11% in suburban counties, 19% in small cities, and 23% in rural counties. Large cities, however, which account for 49% of all gangs, reported a 1% increase in the number of gangs since 1998. An estimated 840,500 gang members were active in the United States in 1999. This number represents an 8% increase from 1998. The most significant changes from 1998 to 1999 occurred in suburban counties (27% increase) and rural counties (29% decrease). Large cities, which account for 60% of all gang members, reported a 4% increase, and small cities reported a 2% increase. 21 Fifty percent of gang members in 1999 were ages 18 to 24, an increase from 46% in 1998 and 37% in 1996. The proportion of gang members ages 15 to 17 decreased to 26% from a high of 34% in 1996. Almost 90% of gang members are ethnic minorities. Numerically, the majority of gangs are either African American or Latino, accounting for 78%. Approximately, 47% of gang members are Latino, 31% are African American, 13% are White, 7% are Asian, and 2% are of other ethnic backgrounds. F ifly percent of gang members were reported as underclass, 35% working class, 12% middle class, and 3% upper middle class (US. Department of Justice, 2000a). Although these numbers may reflect law enforcement’s disproportionate focus on ethnic minority youths and an undercount of White non-Latino youths, they nevertheless point to incontrovertible gang problems facing ethnic communities across the United States. They also underscore the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity in planning interventions for delinquent youths. Part of the explanation for the prevalence of gang membership in these communities may lie in the stressful environment of poverty, unemployment, and economic and social inequality in which these ethnic minorities live. These stressful conditions may limit youths’ access to positive means of meeting their developmental needs. As needs increase under difficult life conditions, the satisfaction gained from connection with a gang also increases (US. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000). Exposure to Violence in the Mgs Media The sixth factor contributing to academic difficulties and delinquent behavior among African American adolescents is their exposure to violence in the mass media. Nearly 4 decades of research on television viewing and other media have documented the 22 almost universal exposure of American children to high levels of violence in the media. For example, 98% percent of American homes have at least one television, which is viewed by children between the ages of 2 and 11 for 28 hours and for 23 hours by teenagers on a weekly basis (Straub, 1996). Straub went on to posit that children from low-income families are the heaviest viewers of television. The level of violence on commercial television has remained constant for nearly 2 decades. Aggressive habits learned early in life are the foundation for later behavior. Aggressive children who have trouble in school and in relating to their peers tend to watch more television; the violence they see there, in turn, reinforces their tendency toward aggression, compounding their academic and social failure. Also, film and television portrayal of women in victim roles and ethnic minorities in aggressive and violent roles exacerbates the violence experienced by women and ethnic minorities. The effects of aggressive behavior on video and film modeling violent behaviors have been demonstrated consistently and conclusively in the psychological literature (Straub, 1996). Although the television and film industries can be credited with showing more ethnic minorities and women in a wider range of roles in recent years, the more common portrayals of such group members remain negative. Ethnic-minority-group members continue to be cast as criminals, gang members, or delinquents exhibiting aberrant or antisocial behavior. In some situations, the Showing of specific films depicting ethnic minority group members in this way has been linked to episodes of violence, including sexual violence. Sexual violence in the media includes explicit sexualized violence against women, including rape and murder, as well as the nonexplicit sexual aggression shown on commercial television and cable and on videos available for viewing at home. Male youths who view sexualized violence or depictions 23 of rape on television or film are more likely to display callousness toward female victims of violence, especially rape. Also, they are more likely to abandon their children, which is a major problem affecting African American adolescents (Miller & Zubaty, 1995). For example, in 1965, 24% of African American infants and 3.1% of White infants were born to single mothers. In 1990, the rates had risen to 64% for African American infants and 18 percent for White infants. Currently, 62% of African Americans infants are born out of wedlock compared to 26% of White infants (US. Bureau of the Census, 2000). To a large extent, “the higher birthrate for African American teenagers can be accounted for by the earlier initiation of sexual intercourse (on average 2 years earlier than Whites); less use of contraception; less likelihood of abortion; and almost universal decision to keep and rear children who are born, rather than offering them for adoption” (National Center for Health Statistics, 2000a). Often, individuals fail to consider and examine the physical and psychosocial consequences as well as negative implications for the young girls, babies, and families involved. First, teenage mothers are more likely to drop out of high school, to go on welfare, to have complications in pregnancy, and to experience physical and psychological problems associated with pregnancy than adult women who hear their first child. Moreover, teenage mothers are more likely to have larger families, to experience less occupational stability and economic mobility, and to be less competent and effective as parents. I Second, children born to teenage mothers are more likely to have low birth weight and other prenatal and postnatal problems, to have poor health, and to experience abuse or neglect. Infant mortality rates are highest among teenage mothers and nearly twice as high among African Americans (21.7 per 1,000 live births in 1978) as among 24 Whites. In contrast, a report from the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control (2000a), showed that the 1999 infant mortality rate of 7.0 infant deaths per 1,000 live births was 3% lower than the 1998 rate and 21% lower than the rate of 8.9% at the beginning of the decade. However, African American women still have the highest incidence of infant mortality, a rate of 14.0 deaths per 1,000 live births. Although this number is down from 1978, it is still four times higher than that of the groups with the lowest rates, which is 2.9 for Chinese mothers and 3.4 for Japanese mothers. If the children of these teenage mothers survive, it is believed that they will be less healthy, less successful in school academically, more likely to grow up in a single-parent, welfare- dependent family, and more likely to become single parents themselves. Although the impact of these out. of wedlock births on African American families has yet to be fully understood and documented, some studies have indicated that children reared in single-parent homes have fewer social supports, which, in turn, limits their ability to grow up in successfully functioning families and eventually form stable family units of their own. For example, in an article in the Washington Times, Miller and Zubaty (1995), reported that 85% of prisoners, 78% of high school dropouts, 82% of teenage girls who become pregnant, and the majority of drug and alcohol abusers come from households headed by single mothers. In contrast, they also reported that less than 1% of the people in any of these categories come from households headed by single fathers. This statistic seems to underscore the need for African American fathers to be present in their children’s lives. There appears to be an increasing trend of Afiican-American children living in single-parent homes. Since 1960, the proportion of African American children living with a single parent more than doubled, from 22% in 1960 to 53.3% in 2000. In 1995, 25 the percentage of African American children living in two-parent homes reached a historic low of 33%, only half the percentage (67%) in 1960. Since 1980, the majority of African American children have lived in single-mother households, which currently constitute 92% of all African American single-parent households. Of the African American children living in single-parent homes, 84% lived with their mothers. Finally, in 2000, 7.7% of African American children lived with relatives rather than a mother or father, and 1.5% lived with nonrelatives, which were often of low-income status (Casper & Fields, 2000). Low-income and ethnic-minority children and youths are presented with a television world that is often quite different from their own. The contrast between the television “haves” and their own “have not” status can elicit strong desires in youths eager to share in the consumer products shown in programs and commercials. Furthermore, television programs often demonstrate how these desirable commodities can be obtained through the use of aggression and violence. However, the effects of viewing violence on television can be mitigated. For example, children can be taught critical viewing skills by parents and in schools so that they can better interpret what they see on television. Also, children can learn to distinguish between fictional portrayals and factual presentations. Moreover, children can be taught to recognize ways in which violence is portrayed unrealistically (e. g., when it is portrayed without any negative consequences). Children can also learn to think about alternatives to the violence portrayed, a strategy that is particularly effective when an adult viewing the violence with the child expresses disapproval of violence as a means of solving problems and then offer alternatives. The availability of such protective 26 measures for some parents, however, does not absolve the film and television industries from their responsibility for reducing the level of violence portrayed on the screen. fiarents’ Psychological and Emotional States The seventh and final factor contributing to academic, delinquent, and violent behavior among African American adolescents, is the psychological and emotional states of their parents, who are often experiencing economic hardship. Adults who are poor have more mental health problems than their economically advantaged counterparts. Several researchers have reported an inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and various forms of psychological distress and mental disorder (Brown, Gary, Green, & Milburn, 1992; Compas, Orosan, & Grant, 1993; Nettles & Pleck, 1994). Wood (1995) found perceived psychological distress to be significantly higher among single African American women with lower incomes, compared to those with higher incomes. Individuals who are poor are confronted with an unremitting succession of negative life events (e.g., eviction, physical illness, criminal assault, and single parenting) in the context of chronically stressful, ongoing life conditions such as inadequate housing and dangerous neighborhoods that together increase the exigencies of day-to-day existence. Studies have indicated that both African American and White adults experiencing job loss or severe income loss, as compared to individuals who are employed or whose income loss is less severe, are more depressed, anxious, and hostile and have elevated feelings of victimization and dissatisfaction with themselves and their lives (Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992). In addition, they consume more alcohol, have more somatic complaints as well as eating and sleeping problems, and are at a higher risk of neurosis, psychotocism, and suicide. 27 Adding to their situation is the fact that poor single mothers are more socially isolated and generally view their interaction with the public welfare system as demeaning and dehumanizing (DuBois, F elner, Meares, & Krier, 1994; McLoyd, 1990). Pearlin and Johnson (1977) said it best: “The combination most productive of psychological distress is to be simultaneously single, isolated, exposed to burdensome parental obligations and most of all poor” (p. 714). Similarly, Wood (1995) found that being single, poor, young, and African American were the combination most productive of dissatisfied parenting and lack of parental fulfillment. Because they are more emotionally distressed than their advantaged counterparts, poor parents capacity for supportive, sensitive, and involved parenting is diminished. . Numerous studies of both African American and White adults, in which both interview and observational methods were used, have indicated that mothers who are poor, when compared to their advantaged counterparts, are more likely to use power- assertive techniques in disciplinary encounters and are generally less supportive of their children. They value obedience more, are less likely to use reasoning, and more likely to use physical punishment as a means of disciplining and controlling the child. Moreover, lower—class parents are more likely to issue commands without explanation, less likely to consult the child about his or her wishes, and less likely to reward the child verbally for behaving in desirable ways. Poverty also has been associated with diminished expression of affection and less responsiveness to the socioemotional needs explicitly expressed by the child (Wallerstein, 1988). In addition, McLoyd (1988) found that single, economically disadvantaged mothers who reported higher levels of economic deprivation 28 hit and scolded their children more frequently than mothers who were economically advantaged. Another problem associated with high stress levels and poverty among low- income parents is abuse. Child abuse represents an extreme form of punitive parenting that occurs more frequently in families experiencing economic decline than in those with stable resources (Garbarino, 1976). Analyzing data over a 30-month period, Steinberg, Catalono, and Dooley (1981) found that increases in child abuse were preceded by periods of high job loss. In contrast, Wang and Gordon (1994) noted that most resilient children have at least one strong relationship with an adult, not always a parent, which diminishes the risks associated with family discord. Fostering resilience in children requires family environments that are caring and structured, hold high expectations for children’s behavior, and encourage participation in the life of the family (Wang & Gordon, 1994). However, this is problematic and often difficult particularly, for children who are mentally and physically abused. For example, in Horowitz and Wolock’s (1985) study of abusing families who received public assistance, it was found that African Americans experienced greater material deprivation and environmental difficulties than Whites, and they reportedly inflicted greater physical harm on their children. This difference, as well as race differences in the use of power assertion by nonabusing parents, may be partly due to inequality in material resources and environmental supports and, in turn, differential levels of psychological distress (Kessler & Neighbors, 1986). These authors endorsed the view that psychological distress is an important source of race differences in the parenting behaviors of low-income adults. 29 Other factors and conditions, however, also may explain these differences. For example, African American lower-class women, compared to White lower-and middle- class women, begin childbearing earlier, have more children, and have children who are spaced closer together. These factors increase emotional strain and foster parenting that relies more on coercion than on negotiation and reasoning (US. Bureau of the Census, 2000) A growing body of data, mostly from mothers of infants and preschoolers, has directly tied parental punitiveness, inconsistency, and unresponsiveness to negative emotional states in the parent. These data are consistent with those from studies showing that parents respond to economic loss with increased irritability, hostility, and depression and, in turn, with punitive and erratic behavior toward their children (McLoyd, 1990). Conger, McCarty, Yang, Lahey, and Kropp (1984) conducted an observational study of African American and White mothers and children (mean age 7.5 years) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Mothers who reported high emotional distress, as compared to those reporting lower stress, exhibited fewer positive behaviors (e.g., hugs supportive statements, and praise) and more negative behaviors toward their children (e.g., derogatory statements, threats, and slaps). Similarly, maternal depression and emotional distress have been found to be associated with physical abuse, use of aversive and coercive discipline, and diminished maternal sensitivity and satisfaction with parenting (Barber & Eccles, 1992). Children whose parents have experienced job loss, severe income loss, or periods of unemployment have more socioemotional problems than their advantaged counterparts. These problems include depression, loneliness, emotional sensitivity, social withdrawal, low self-esteem, and behavioral problems (Darity & Myers, 1995a). 30 Summary As the statistics in this section indicate, African American adolescents have been and continue to be at a greater risk for a host of personal, social, cognitive, and environmental problems including: single parenting, drug addiction, incarceration, homicide, unemployment, academic problems, poverty, and depression. Although African Americans are doing better academically and economically than during any other period in American history, the problems that continue to exist within the African American community cannot be ignored. Many studies and statistics continue to inform the literature of the types of problems and issues African Americans are experiencing. However, very few studies have indicated how to eradicate the problems that exist within the African American adolescent population, particularly in the academic arena. Parents, educators, and other institutions (i.e., the justice system and social workers) continue to scramble to find answers. In this study, I will attempt to answer some of these difficult questions, in order to facilitate academic resilience among African American adolescents. This study differs from other studies in that affective variables were examined as facilitators of academic resilience, an aspect that has been ignored in the scientific literature. Although there is a significant amount of literature on risk factors, fewer researchers have addressed factors that facilitate academic resilience among African American adolescents and young adults. Expanding the knowledge base regarding factors that contribute to academic resilience among African American students is critical to the profession for several reasons. First, enhancing the knowledge base might facilitate the development of intervention strategies and modules that could contribute to the reduction of African American male representation in the criminal justice system (i.e., 31 prison, probation, parole, and juvenile detention). Second, because African American adolescents have been identified as the most at-risk population for mental health services, expanding the knowledge base will help mental health professionals provide adequate services to meet their unique individual needs while reducing diagnostic and curative measures. Finally, research in this area is critical due to the scarcity of research as well as the failure to examine affective variables. Poor academic performance among African American adolescents is a pervasive problem that warrants considerable and immediate attention. However, literature focusing specifically on this problem is scarce. Also, much of the existing research has focused on deficit models as opposed to positive characteristics associated with success despite harsh environmental circumstances. Moreover, very few, if any, researchers have examined variables that influence the mental and emotional strength of Afiican American adolescents. Research examining the affective domain as a contributor to academic resilience is important for two reasons. First, it has been suggested that children who show a fearless, impulsive temperament very early in life may have a predisposition to delinquent behavior. For example, children with a difficult temperament, who are hard to comfort when they are infants, and who have a pattern of temper tantrums as children are also at risk for delinquent behavior in childhood and late adolescence. Second, such research is critical because problems with stress management, coping techniques, anger management, and poor academic performance are more prevalent among African American adolescents than their White counterparts. In early childhood, aggressive, delinquent, and disruptive classroom behavior contributes to poor school achievement and poor peer relations. In addition to academic 32 failure contributing to later delinquent behavior, it now seems that early antisocial and delinquent behavior patterns learned at home and elsewhere also may interfere with school learning and with the development of positive peer relations in the school context. In addition to family and childrearing factors, Chesley-Carter (1998) noted that when some African American adolescents experience racism, they respond with anger and rebelliousness by resisting mainstream socialization, performing poorly in school, rebelling against school authority figures who are perceived as prejudiced, and ultimately dropping out of school. However, there are other African American adolescents who share similar experiences but do not express their emotions in a manner that is self- destructive or counterproductive. What are the factors that contribute to this difference? It is my contention that academically resilient African American students will exhibit high levels of emotional intelligence, emotional control, impulse control, optimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience, which serve as protective factors in managing the negative emotions that are associated with environmental stressors. Resiliency Theory The concept of resilience has emerged and become a popular research topic as a direct result of early research studying at-risk populations (Glantz & Johnson, 1999). Researchers have examined the influences of stress, vulnerability, risk factors, coping strategies, and protective factors on adjustment and adaptation in adolescents living in poverty, or those individuals who were at risk for developing severe emotional, mental, and behavioral problems (Garmezy, 1986). This research has led to attempts to identify particular variables and unique personality and behavioral characteristics of individuals who have coped effectively with stress and thrived despite exposure to extreme adversity and less-than-desirable 33 circumstances (Garmezy & Masten, 1986; Luthar, 1991; Rutter, 1987; Werner, 1989). Despite adverse circumstances associated with crime, poverty, violence, health issues, and other social concerns, some African American students defy the odds and become resilient, which contributes to their academic and overall success. In general, resilience has been defined as the ability to overcome stress, trauma, and setbacks while successfully adapting and coping. Despite this general definition, operationalizing the concept of resilience has been problematic because the term resilience has been given diverse meanings in different studies. For example, in education, resilience has been associated with hardiness, stress resistance, competence, ego strength, and invulnerability (Garmezy, 1993). On the other hand, in the social sciences, resilience has been linked to coping, adjustment, adaptation, and stress management. Resilience has been defined as a cause, a personality trait, an outcome, and a process (Glantz & Johnson, 1999). Initial studies involving resilience examined the construct in individuals as solely a personality trait and focused more on risk factors instead of protective factors. However, more recently, researchers have begun to examine resilience as a process as well as the role of protective factors in influencing positive outcomes (Freitas & Downey, 1998). Kinard (1998) posited that three general types of resilience can be found in the literature. These are (a) resilience as competent functioning in the face of chronic life stressors, (b) resilience as recovering from traumatic experiences, and (c) resilience as positive results and outcomes despite poverty and exposure to high-risk environments. Glantz and Johnson (1999) examined Kinard’s (1998) three types of resilience and suggested that research on resilience should clearly identify the type of resilience 34 being examined. For example, if resilience entails an individual’s surviving an abusive- dysfunctional family, the resilience should be labeled familial resilience. If resilience entails the ability to achieve academically, despite coming from adverse social and environmental circumstances, the resilience should be labeled academic resilience. It is difficult to get a true measure of resilience due to the various ways the construct is operationalized. Consequently, the literature on resilience is filled with conceptual and methodological issues that must be addressed. For the purposes of this study, academic resilience is defined as the ability to thrive and achieve above average academic performance (3.0 or greater GPA) despite economic, sociocultural, and/or environmental challenges. Ickovics and Park (1998) concluded that a great deal of research in the field of psychology and other social sciences involving resilience has focused on negative factors, psychopathology, and environmental stressors as it relates to pathological processes. Few studies have focused on factors that contribute to positive outcomes and healthy functioning, particularly among African American populations. Consequently, the scientific literature has been bombarded with similar studies that have highlighted deficiencies, overexamined variables, and failed to bring awareness and produce models that will enhance the scientific literature on resilience. More recently, the field of psychology has shifted from a deficiency model to one that emphasizes personal strengths (Ickovics & Park, 1998). Before this, there were only a few studies on resilience among African Americans that demonstrated significant relationships between resilience and measures of cognitive superiority, sociability, sensitivity, inner control, and cooperativeness (Garmezy & Rutter, 1983; Murphy & Moriarity, I976; Werner & Smith, 1982). The cognitive 35 appraisal theory supported those findings. Developed by Lazarus and F olkman (1984), the cognitive appraisal theory asserts that what we decide to do as individuals’ regarding stressful situations or events is partially a determinant of how those situations or events are appraised, processed, and interpreted. Fifteen years later, Jew, Green, and Kroger (1999) used the cognitive appraisal theory of stress and coping to conceptualize resilience. According to this particular theory, an individual will do several things when faced with stress. First, the individual will perceive or experience stress in his or her environment. Second, the individual will appraise the situation. Third, the person will decide on a coping response or inaction, depending on his or her cognitive set based on the appraisal, values, beliefs, and previous learning, etc. Finally, the individual will reappraise the situation to see if additional action is necessary to eliminate or reduce the stress. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) defined stress as a multidimensional phenomenon that manifests itself differently across various situations. The authors postulated that there is positive as well as negative stress. Positive stress may serve as motivation for an individual to embrace a difficult or challenging situation. In contrast, negative stress may produce anger, anxiety, hopelessness,'and nervousness, contributing to an individual’s negative behavior. In addition, negative stress may contribute to mental and physical illness. According to this theoretical framework, when an individual is faced with stress and other adverse circumstances, cognitive processes are triggered that cause the individual to appraise the stressful situation. The appraisal process comprises two steps. The first step involves primary appraisal and the second step involves secondary 36 appraisal. During the primary appraisal process, the individual will make one of three choices regarding an adverse circumstance or stressful situation. First, the individual will appraise the situation or stressor as irrelevant (i.e., an encounter with the stressor does not have a negative impact on one’s well-being). Second, the individual will appraise the situation as benign-positive. This occurs when the outcome of an encounter with stress is positive. Third, the individual will appraise the situation as stressful, which involves an actual or perceived loss; a threat with potential negative consequences; or a challenge in which the individual is able to cope, manage stress, and overcome adverse and stressful circumstances. After the individual has completed the primary appraisal process and identified possible options that will produce positive outcomes, the individual can then move to the secondary appraisal process which involves making a decision about what can be done about the negative situation. Most individuals realize that something must be done to manage the stressful situation and adverse circumstance. Once he or she chooses a particular response, the individual might reappraise the situation in order to decide whether firrther action is needed to alleviate additional stress and eradicate additional danger or harm. My argument for examining emotional intelligence and related constructs, specifically, emotional control, impulse control, optimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience as key variables is that they require self-appraisals (i.e., emotional and cognitive appraisal) and emotional regulation. Emotional intelligence requires an appraisal and regulation of emotions that might influence an individual’s behavioral response to a stressful environmental situation or event (i.e., a racial fight or an incident 37 within the school, or negative comments regarding an African American’s intellectual or cognitive abilities within the classroom). Glantz and Johnson (1999) argued that coping skills and abilities should be considered in developing models of resiliency. They stated that individuals tend to organize their coping responses into three distinct domains: (3) problem-focused coping, which entails efforts to resolve life stressors by seeking information, taking direct action, and finding alternative rewards; (b) appraisal-focused coping, which entails defining, interpreting, and understanding a given situation or event; and (c) emotion-focused c0ping, which involves attempting to manage emotional reactions to stressors by regulating one’s feelings, expressing anger, and accepting a negative situation (Glantz & Johnson, 1999, p. 65). I did not use coping as a key variable in this study because coping is included in various aspects of emotional intelligence. Specifically, emotional intelligence primarily involves behaviors consistent with characteristics found in appraisal-focused and emotion-focused coping. Wolin and Wolin (1993) developed a theory of resilience based on clinical interviews they conducted with approximately 25 of their clients from their private practice. The researchers postulated that resilience develops over time in the form of skills. These specific skills, labeled lasting strengths or resiliencies become a fixed part of the individual. According to the researchers, these skills include independence, initiative, insight, creativity, humor, morality, and interpersonal skills. - These resiliencies or abilities tend to “cluster” by personalities. Of course, different people learn to be vulnerable to adverse circumstances and stress. The authors argued that overcoming adverse circumstances is a matter of learning to restructure negative thinking and behaviors. Also, they contended that an individual can discover his 38 or her resilient self by examining the success of survivors of similar adverse circumstances. According to Wolin and Wolin (1993), the field of psychology’s obsession and preoccupation with pathology is the primary cause of making people vulnerable to stress and other adverse circumstances. The researchers argued that because the field of psychology has a preoccupation with pathology, people are conditioned to be nonresilient. As a result, Wolin and Wolin developed the damage model to explain the etiology of vulnerability and pathology among individuals. Pathology is manifested in the form of pathological thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It should be noted that the damaged model is theoretical in nature and cannot be validated through empirical research. However, the model offers a Sound theoretical framework for examining resilience. The damage model is countered by the challenge model, which attempts to explain how people overcome stressful environments that contribute to adverse circumstances. Like the damage model, the challenge model is theoretical in nature and cannot be validated through empirical research. According to this model, vulnerable individuals must refrain from and restructure their conceptualization regarding life in order to become resilient. Wolin and Wolin (1993) postulated, that by reading their book regarding resilience, “an individual can heighten awareness regarding strengths and retrieve lost memories of successfully overcoming adversity and pain” (p. 18). The key in overcoming painful thoughts and memories is to restructure thinking from victim to survivor. The researchers cited case reports as evidence for the challenge model (pp. 18- 39 19). Moreover, they contended that a number of experiments on resilience had added to their conceptualization of how survivors overcome obstacles. Models of Resilience In an effort to provide a complete picture regarding resilience, I contend that, in addition to the theoretical frameworks discussed above, it is equally important to discuss models of resilience. Currently, there are several models of resilience that are intended to expand our knowledge and understanding of resilience. A major problem facing many of the current models on resilience is their inability to move beyond equating resilience with simply possessing specific protective factors (Glantz & Johnson, 1999). It is rare for models of resilience to define the construct as a process. However, a few models of resilience attempt to capture the essence of resilience as it relates to the population of interest in the present study. These models include but are not limited to the ecological, life cycle, and the transactional models of resilience. The models reviewed are Mrazek and Mrazek’s (1987) ecological model, F lach’s (1988) life-cycle model, and Glantz and Johnson’s transitional model. Mrazek and Mrazek (1987) developed an ecological model of resilience and defined the construct as an outcome of interactions among risk factors, protective factors, and personality traits. The researchers identified and highlighted 12 personal characteristics and skills that they believed facilitate resilience: (a) maturity, (b) rapid responsivity to danger, (c) information-seeking, (d) decisive risk-taking, (e) altruism, (f) cognitive restructuring of painful experiences, (g) positive projective anticipation, (h) idealization of an aggressor’s competence, (i) formation and utilization of relationships for survival, (j) the conviction of being loved, (k) optimism and hope, and (l) disassociation of affect (Mrazek & Mrazek, 1987, pp. 359-362). 40 A year after Mrazek and Mrazek developed the ecological model of resilience, F lach (1988) conceptualized resilience as a process and developed the life-cycle model. According to Flach, an individual will progress through the following eight stages during his or her life: birth, childhood, adolescence, young single adulthood, young marriage, parenthood, middle age, and aging. According to this model, each stage has a specific set of challenges, responsibilities, characteristics, and opportunities that require a person to adapt and change in order to cope effectively with environmental stressors. Growth and maturity enable the individual to move from one stage to the next. Movement from one stage to the next induces stress within the individual. However, stress prepares the individual for the next level of development. Bifurcation occurs between eachlife cycle and the next. Bifurcation is defined as the point where individuals respond to the stress, adversity, and problems encountered in everyday life. During these various stages of the life cycle, individuals might struggle mentally, physically, and behaviorally. Negative behavioral responses are indicative of the need to change, in terms of forfeiting thinking, attitudes, and behaviors that may be potentially harmful to the individual. In order to grow and develop during the life cycle, one must replace negative thinking, attitudes, and behaviors with more mature ways of thinking and behaving. Although the conditions of a life stage differ from stage to stage, universal issues recur every time an individual moves through bifurcation points. These universal issues include (a) giving up people and things we love because they die or go away, (b) balancing our ability to be independent against our need for others, (c) forming new relationships and renewing old ones, ((1) reconsidering of one’s self-image and holding on 41 to and restoring self-esteem, (e) redefining or reaffirming our purposes in life, and (f) adapting to changing external circumstances. Flach (1988) went on to identify and highlight specific traits that he believed contribute to an individual’s resiliency. According to F lach, attitudes reflective of resilience are implied in those traits, and include: (a) a high level of personal discipline, (b) a sense of personal responsibility, (c) recognition and development of one’s special gifts and talents, (d) open-mindedness and receptivity to new ideas, (e) a strong support network, (0 good interpersonal skills, (g) a strong sense of self, (h) independence of thought and action, (i) a keen sense of humor, (j) a high tolerance of stress, (k) an ability to maintain focus, (1) a wide range of interests, (m) a willingness to dream and set goals, and (n) insight into one’s feelings and the feelings of others, and the ability to communicate them effectively with others. A decade after the development of both the ecological and life-cycle models of resilience, Glantz and Johnson (1999) developed a transitional model of resilience. They defined the construct as the outcome of dynamic interactions between (a) personal characteristics of the resilient person, (b) reintegration or positive outcome after negative life experiences, (c) environmental precursors, commonly called risk and protective factors, and ((1) dynamic processes that mediate between the person and the environment, and the person and the outcome. Although it is reasonable to believe that these three models facilitate an understanding of resilience within an individual, one of the problems and weaknesses with these models is their inability to offer reasonable explanations of how these traits, processes, and outcomes occur within an individual. However, one of the strengths 42 associated with these models is that they provide mental health professionals with a set of skills that can be used in therapy. I contend that the aforementioned models offer a solid conceptualization of resilience. It is my belief that the population classified as academically resilient in the current research will possess several of the characteristics and traits identified in the various models of resilience. Resiliency Studies Involving African Americaaa The overwhelming majority of studies on resilience have been conducted on African American adolescents (Clark, 1991; Garmezy, Masten, & Tellegen, 1984; Garmezy & Tellegen, 1984; Lee, Winfield, & Wilson, 1991; Luthar, 1991; Werner & Smith, 1982). However, these studies have failed to focus on affective factors as facilitators of resilience, which was a major reason for conducting this particular study. A few researchers have examined resilience within the college population. For example, Thompson (1998) examined predictors of resilience in African American college students and adults. That study was unique because both a qualitative and a quantitative approach were used to identify predictors of resilience. The qualitative portion of the study was based on interview data extracted from African American adults. In contrast, the quantitative section of the study was based on data from a paper and pencil instrument administered to African American college students. The primary findings from the study suggested that college students who grew up in poverty and experienced extreme environmental conditions were less likely to consider themselves to be as resilient as other African American college students in the same age group. This finding supports other empirical research suggesting that poverty has a negative effect on resilience within the African American population. Additional 43 research examining the college population is needed in order to understand what factors have facilitated resilience in African American students, particularly those living in poverty-stricken areas, who have overcome adverse circumstances After several decades of research on resilience, several gaps in the scientific literature remain. First, the majority of studies on resilience have been conducted using preadolescent and younger children as subjects (Garmezy & Tellegen, 1984; Garmezy et al., 1984; Werner & Smith, 1982). Second, many of the variables used in these studies have been overexamined, with socioeconomic status being the most commonly investigated sociodemographic variable in risk research. Finally, the majority of researchers have failed to examine emotional factors as facilitators of resilience while overexamining cognitive, personality, and environmental factors. Studies that have focused on cognitive, personal, and environmental factors are discussed in the following paragraphs. Three major studies of resilience were conducted during the 19705 and 19805 (Garmezy & Rutter, 1983; Murphy & Moriarity, 1976; Werner & Smith, 1982). In these studies, variables were examined in relation to resilience. In general, results of these studies indicated that sensitivity, sociability, inner control, cooperativeness, and cognitive superiority were related to resilience. However, a major limitation of these studies was that the findings were based largely on clinical observations, with some of the findings based on data from standardized instruments and surveys. Two major studies on resilience were conducted in the 19905 (Luthar 1991; Winfield, 1991). These studies were improvements over the earlier studies in that the researchers used standardized instruments to examine selected variables, making the results more reliable and valid. 44 Luthar (1991) examined factors that allow children to maintain socially competent behaviors despite experiencing stress and other environmental problems. Subjects for the study were 144 inner-city ninth-grade students whose mean age was 15.3 years. The participants represented three ethnicities; 45% were African American, 30% were Latino/a, and the remaining students were Caucasians and other ethnicities. Scores on a negative life events scale were used in operationalizing stress, and definitions of social competence were based on peer ratings, teacher ratings, and school grades. Moderator variables examined in the study were intelligence, internal locus of control, social skills, ego development, and positive life events. Luthar followed theoretical models developed by Garmezy and Rutter and made distinctions between compensatory factors, which were directly related to competence, and protective factors, which interacted with stress in influencing competence. Findings from the study indicated that ego development was compensatory against stress. Internal locus of control and social skills proved to be protective factors, whereas intelligence and positive life events were involved in vulnerability processes. In addition, the findings indicated that children labeled resilient were significantly more depressed and anxious than were competent children from low-stress backgrounds. Winfield ( 1991) examined two variables that Luthar previously examined. These were social skills and positive life events. Winfield found that seeking help as a coping technique and participating in sports enhanced subjects’ self-esteem and fostered resilience. Expanding on Luthar’s (1991) and Winfield’s (1991) research, Lee et a1. (1991) studied a nationally representative sample of high-achieving African American eight graders who scored above the national average on reading achievement tests. Lee et al. 45 found that students were able to overcome obstacles through the use of such academic behaviors as spending more time reading, studying, and seeking information. This study differed from Luthar’s and Winfield’s studies in that academic behaviors were examined as well as help seeking, which is a social skill. A number of researchers examining resilience in African American populations have used social skills as a variable. For example, Clark (1991) posited several variables that contribute to the academic competence of African American adolescents, who are often considered at risk due to environmental stressors, such as poverty, violence, unemployment, racism, and discrimination. These variables include individual attributes such as achievement motivation and personal identity. However, Clark believed that social skills may be more important than these individual attributes. Specifically, Clark (1991) contended that African American youths who establish a bicultural identity perform better academically than those who lack such an identity. She further noted that developing a bicultural identity engenders the development of skills that are problem focused (i.e., discussing the problem) instead of emotion focused, which entails fighting or insulting another as an attempt to cope with environmental stressors. Furthermore, Clark contended that the foregoing attitude can immensely influence one’s academic resilience. If one is experiencing racism and discrimination and adopts a bicultural identity, he or she is likely to use effective problem-solving skills to resolve the problem. Clark noted that African American adolescents exist in a Eurocentric culture predicated on competitive relationships between African Americans and Whites, in which the former are relegated to a subordinate status. She further noted that some African Americans acknowledge that institutional racism and discrimination are matters to be 46 reckoned with and learn to cope effectively and thus develop a bicultural identity. Finally, Clark noted that most African Americans who have adopted bicultural identities are not at risk for academic failure. Biculturality, therefore seems to be related to academic resilience. However, in a study conducted by Ford, Okojie, and Lewis (1996), biculturality was not found to be a significant predictor of academic resilience in a sample of African American college students. Social support is another variable that appears to contribute to academic resilience (Clark, 1991). Clark claimed that social support serves as a buffer against stress and enhances self-esteem during stressful times. Accordingly, Clark posited that those who are successful in school have social support systems that seem to facilitate academic resilience. . After several researchers in the early 19905 focused on social skills variables, research trends began to shift to cognitive and environmental variables. For example, Wilson-Sadberry, Winfield, and Royster (1991) examined resilience and transition of African American males from high school to college and found that an important factor that facilitated academic success was planning. Specifically, African American males who progressed through college were more likely to have formulated their plans during their senior year in high school. The researchers also found that fatherhood and unemployment were formidable barriers to African American males attending college. Alter Wilson-Sadberry et al. (1991) deviated from the earlier trends and expanded the literature on resilience to include cognitive and environmental variables, other researchers began to examine sociocultural and family functioning variables. For example, Ensminger and Slusarcick (1992) studied a first-grade cohort of African Americans who were at risk for school dropout. The longitudinal research focused on 47 protective factors that led to high school graduation. Performing poorly during the first year of school put both males and females at a disadvantage, but specially males. In contrast, students who achieved high grades during the first year of school had a high likelihood of graduation. Maternal education also was found to be related to high school graduation (Ensminger & Slusarcick, 1992). Having a mother with a high school education increased the likelihood that males who performed poorly in first grade would graduate. Being from a dual-parent household was protective for the girls. Having strict rules during adolescence helped the females compensate for their low grades in first grade and increased their rate of graduation. In addition, the researchers posited that the children who performed well in school initially would receive greater rewards, which, in turn, would facilitate their commitment to school, thereby increasing their self-efficacy. Gordon’s (1995) study was similar to the aforementioned studies examining social skills, ego development, and cognitive variables in that it focused on the role of self-concept (ego development) and motivation (inner-control) in aiding resilient African American high school sophomores obtain academic competence. However, Gordon’s research is different in that it is one of the few research studies in which an attempt has been made to operationalize academic resilience. In that study, participants from an impoverished, stressful background with grade point averages of 2.75 or above were considered academically resilient. To determine subjects’ resiliency status, socioeconomic status was determined using the Hollingshead Two Factor Index, and stress was determined through a self-report measure. The High School Assessment of Academic Self-Concept and the Assessment of Personal Agency Beliefs were used to measure self-concept and motivation. Findings of the study indicated that resilient 48 students had a higher self-concept, placed more emphasis on material gain, and had a stronger belief in their cognitive goals than their nonresilient counterparts. Although the studies discussed in this section were desperately needed, the vast majority of them focused on similar variables that did not expand the literature or our understanding of other factors such as emotional or affective variables that might facilitate academic resilience within the African American population. The current research was undertaken to fill this gap in the scientific literature by examining affective variables as facilitators of academic resilience. Maior Criticisms of the Resiliency Literature Studies on resilience have improved in the last few years and have shown promising developments with regard to models and conceptualizations of resilience (Jew et al., 1999; Kinard, 1998). However, according to Kumpfer (1999), studying resilience remains a daunting task due to a lack of agreement among researchers about how to operationalize the construct. For example, researchers cannot agree on whether resilience is a fixed personality trait, a changing personality trait, or a process. Through empirical research, researchers have identified factors that may contribute to or detract from the development and manifestation of resilience. However, they have not identified a particular method of fostering resilience. Several other pertinent issues also contribute to problems in the resiliency literature; however, only the most salient of those issues are discussed here. Common concerns regarding the literature on resilience are (a) the excessive amount of attention given to problem behaviors and negative circumstances as either predictor or outcome variables, (b) the failure of researchers to develop and validate an instrument that will measure specific types of resilience (i.e., academic resilience), (c) the limited number of studies clearly 49 stating what factors are needed to achieve optimal resilience and functioning, (d) the lack of a unified conceptual framework, and (e) ambiguous definitions of risk and protective factors. As stated before, a significant problem concerning the resiliency literature is that the definitions of risk factors, protective factors, and the construct of resilience itself are ambiguous and vary from study to study. The ambiguity in definitions makes it difficult to integrate and generalize the research findings. For example, a protective factor in study X may very well be a risk factor in study Y. In additional, finding studies that used a common psychological theory is extremely difficult. As mentioned earlier, several frameworks have been used to conceptualize the construct of resilience (Flach, 1988; Glantz & Johnson, 1999; Mrazek & Mrazek, 1987). These conceptual frameworks have modeled resilience differently. For example, Mrazek and Mrazek, viewed resilience as a fixed or unchanging trait, whereas Flach conceptualized resilience as a process. Moreover, the field of psychology’s obsession and preoccupation with problem behaviors and negative environmental circumstances has stagnated the scientific literature, preventing the field of psychology from moving forward. Previously, the literature focused on and emphasized risk factors and negative environmental circumstances, particularly among African American populations. However, researchers in the field of psychology are beginning to examine factors that will produce positive outcomes and prevent pathology. This direction holds promise in terms of conducting studies that will examine and highlight protective influences that will facilitate resilience within the African American population. 50 In an effort to further explain protective factors, Kaplan, Turner, Norman, and Stillson (1996) identified 20 such factors that, in their estimate, contribute to and facilitate resilience. They identified these protective factors into four distinct categories: (a) community protective factors (b) school protective factors, (0) family protective factors, and ((1) individual attributes. Community protective factors consist of (a) positive community norms, and (b) solid community resources. School Protective Factors consist of (a) caring/supportive school atmosphere, (b) high but realistic expectations for student academic performance, and (c) opportunities for involvement in school decision making. Family protective factors consist of (a) extended support networks, (b) positive parental modeling of resilience and coping, (c) family responsibilities and household tasks, (d) high but realistic family expectations, (6) positive family environment and bonding, and (1) consistent, warm, positive relationships with a caring adult. Individual attributes consist of (a) adaptive distancing, (b) humor, (c) the capacity to understand and respond to other’s feelings, (d) sense of direction or mission, (e) social problem-solving skills, (I) realistic appraisal of the environment, (g) high self-efficacy, (h) intellectual capabilities consisting of verbal and communication skills, and (i) easy-going temperament or disposition (pp. 159-160). As previously stated, the majority of studies examining resilience within the African American population have overexamined variables that focus primarily on cognitive, social, and environmental factors. In addition, the majority of studies have used adolescent populations as subjects. Using adolescents as subjects is limiting because information is not gained regarding factors that contribute to college success. To date, the scientific literature has not provided a great deal of insight into the role of affective factors as facilitators of resilience. The present study differs from previous 51 studies in two ways. First, emotional factors are examined in this study in hopes of contributing new information to the scientific literature. Second, young adults are the subjects in this study because they might provide insight into factors that facilitated their academic successes and failures, thus providing a framework to better prepare young African American children and adolescents for academic success. Theories of Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is a fairly new construct deserving attention in empirical studies. Much of the information on emotional intelligence is theoretical in nature; only one empirical study has been conducted on this construct with the exception of one study (see Ford et al., 1996). Therefore, a substantial body of literature providing empirical evidence of the usefulness of this construct does not currently exists. This gap in the scientific literature served as the motivation and impetus for examining emotional intelligence in the current study. Although emotional intelligence does not have a great deal of empirical support, the construct has been examined in populations for norrning purposes to address issues of reliability and validity, and favorable results have been achieved in the populations sampled (see Chapter III). In the 19305, the study of social intelligence largely pertained to how people made judgments regarding others and the accuracy of these judgments. By the 19505, however, this work had become divided into an intelligence tradition that was interested in abilities of person perception, and a social-psychological tradition that focused on the social determinants of person perception. The two areas had diverged in a manner that caused researchers in one area to be unaware of the work of researchers in a different area (Walker & Foley, 1973). 52 Since the 19705, there has been a growing convergence of these and other areas, as intelligence researchers have become more interested in social intelligence, psychologists have become more interested in cognitive determinants of perceptions (e.g., Fiske & Taylor, 1991), a group of evolutionary psychologists have become interested in nonverbal behavior (Buck, 1984), and more recently, psychologists have become more interested in the emotional aspects of intelligence (Goleman, 1996; Mayer & Salovey, 1995) Social intelligence has been less studied because it is the hardest of the three broad classes of intelligence to distinguish from other types of intelligence, both theoretically (e.g., Mayer & Salovey, 1993) and empirically (Cronbach, 1960). Interest in social intelligence, however, recently has undergone a revival (see Legree, 1995). Rather than simply dropping social intelligence, it has been argued that it would make sense to distinguish it more clearly from other intelligences by subdividing it into emotional and motivational intelligences. Motivational intelligence would involve understanding motivations such as the need for achievement, affiliation, or power, as well as understanding tacit knowledge related to those motivations (e. g., Wagner & Sternberg, 1985) and the goal setting related to them (Cantor & Kihlstrom, 1987). In contrast, emotional intelligence involves recognizing emotion, reasoning with emotion and emotion-related information, and processing emotional information as a part of general problem-solving ability (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Although Gardner (1983) did not use the term emotional intelligence, his concept of social intelligence, which included intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence, provided a strong foundation for formulating the models and theories of emotional intelligence. According to Gardner, intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to recognize one's own emotions. Conversely, 53 interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand other individuals’ intentions, motivations, and emotions. Based on models developed by Salovey and Mayer (1990) and Goleman (1996), the construct of emotional intelligence includes both intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. Salovey and Mayer (1990) first coined the term emotional intelligence and postulated that emotional intelligence consists of the following three categories of adaptive abilities: appraisal and expression of emotion, regulation of emotions, and utilization of emotions in problem solving and decision making. The first category, appraisal and expression of emotion consist of verbal and nonverbal perception and empathy. Emotional expression involves behavioral changes associated with the experience of emotion, such as smiling, frowning, crying, storming out of a room, or all- out aggression. The second category, regulation of emotions, involves enhancing one's ability to maximize happy feelings, overcome depressed moods, and control harmful impulses. In addition, emotional regulation involves attempts to repair unpleasant moods while maintaining pleasant ones, as well as the ability to alter affective reactions to others (e.g., the ability to calm distressing emotions in other individuals; Salovey & Mayer, 1990) The recognition of emotion may be the best starting place for empirical measurement of emotional intelligence because there are provisionally agreed-upon ways to identify what someone is experiencing (Mayer & Salovey, in press). In contrast, more complex emotional problems require extremely careful consideration before emotional reasoning and its outcomes can be fairly evaluated (Mayer & Salovey, 1995). Because the ability to recognize emotions is basic to a person’s emotional well-being, considerable research on this topic already exists. Its potential importance to daily 54 functioning has also been noted. For example, Reik (1952) associated mental health with the ability to recognize one’s emotion, and mental illness with the inability to recognize it. Consider his example: A patient was having an affair with a married man. . . One day she asked the married man to promise her that he would not come from his home when he visited her and that he would not return home when he left her. She formulated what she expected from him more clearly the next day. “You must not come from her or go to her when you see me.” It is obvious that the wife of her lover was meant. . . .She spoke of it as if it were an indifferent thought that had occurred to her, a convenient arrangement, yes, even a kind of amusing idea. . . .But the analyst could put himself into the place of the patient. . . .he got an inkling. . . .of the emotions of his patient: her jealousy, her suffering from the thought that her lover left her to go home to his wife. (pp. 309-311) A person like the aforementioned patient, who is unable to connect her thoughts to her own emotions, may find herself at a social disadvantage while appearing irrational and demanding. A person like the therapist who can “hear” the emotions in another’s thoughts may excel at handling certain social demands. Sometimes the task of emotional identification requires considerable perspective taking, as in the preceding sample. At other times, such inferences may be more direct. People simply may sense that pleasant thoughts indicate pleasant moods (Forgas, 1995). In addition, they may recognize the correlations between thoughts of injustice and anger, perceptions of threat and fear, and so forth, that stem from emotional appraisals of events (Ortony, Clore, & Collins, 1988). The third category of adaptive abilities, utilization of emotions, consists of creative thinking, motivation, redirected attention, and flexible planning. Marshaling emotions in the service of a goal is essential for selective attention, self—motivation, and so forth. According to Goleman (1996), emotional self-control and delay of gratification underlie all human accomplishment. Three of these categories of adaptive abilities are significant in providing a framework to address the level of emotional development among African American 55 adolescents, particularly, the regulation and utilization of emotions. The lack of emotional development and the ability to manage negative emotions may explain why more African American adolescents when compared to their White peers are experiencing academic problems and trouble with the law. Recent research conducted by Malouff and Schutte (1998), Shutte et al. (1998), and Schutte and Malouff (1998) indicated that component parts of Salovey and Mayer's (1990) model are highly related. The researchers also discovered that emotional intelligence is associated with other adaptive characteristics and outcomes, such as optimism and academic performance. Building on Salovey and Mayer's model, Goleman (1996) presented various correlates of emotional intelligence. He expanded the construct to include a number of specific self-management, communication, and social skills influenced by the expression and understanding of emotions. Goleman defined emotional intelligence as the ability to control impulses, soothe anxiety, avoid depression, maintain optimism in the face of adversity, direct anger appropriately, respond well to the emotional reactions of others, engage in nonjudgmental listening and speaking, resolve conflicts in relationships, and show concern and helpfulness toward others. African American college students who are susceptible to negative social and academic outcomes seem to be stifled in part by unmanageable emotionality (Barbarin, 1993a). Consequently, several detrimental issues arise due to their inability to manage negative emotions. Some of these issues include dropping out of school; becoming depressed while losing a sense of direction, focus, purpose, and hope; and responding with negative attitudes and harmful tactics. None of the aforementioned coping styles or behaviors is productive or beneficial to the individual behaviorally, academically, physically, mentally, or emotionally. As a result of these poor coping styles and 56 behaviors, many African American adolescents find themselves locked out of society and relegated to dead-end opportunities. The aforementioned point is captured by Goleman's view that cognitive intelligence may help individuals gain admission to particular settings, but their emotional intelligence determines how successful they are within these settings. Supporting Goleman's notion, Schutte et a1. (1998) found that emotional intelligence predicted success during the first year of college. Although there is some compelling evidence supporting emotional intelligence as a predictor of success, there is a lack of research using this variable to predict academic resilience in African American populations. Studies Involving Emotional Intelligence There is little empirical evidence supporting the construct of emotional intelligence. However, Ford et al. (1996) examined the role of several psychosocial variables (emotional intelligence, bicultural behaviors, locus of control, and social support) in facilitating academic resilience. The study sample comprised 104 African American male college students’ ages 18 to 24 who were raised in urban areas. Ninety percent of the subjects were enrolled at an inner-city Historically Black College located in the southern region of the United States, and 10% were participating in a summer program at a Big Ten university and were enrolled at colleges in various parts of the country. All subjects were from urban communities and reported experiencing high stress. F ifty-four subjects had grade point averages below 3.0 and were classified as academically nonresilient, whereas 50 subjects had grade point averages of 3.0 and above and were classified as academically resilient. 57 Ford et al. used regression analysis and descriptive statistics to determine whether the abovementioned variables contributed significantly to academic resilience in African American males. Of the five variables examined, only emotional intelligence proved to be a significant predictor of academic resilience. Emotional intelligence explained approximately 5.5% (p <. 0091) of the variance. Barbarin (1993) noted that when some African American adolescents experience racism and discrimination, they respond with anger and become rebellious. These adolescents may manifest their anger and rebelliousness by resisting and rejecting mainstream socialization, performing poorly in school, and rebelling against school authority figures whom they perceive as prejudiced. However, Barbarin contended that if a student is experiences racism and discrimination and has a high level of emotional intelligence, he or she will not perceive the purveyors of knowledge in academic institutions as the enemy. As a result, the student will not attempt to undermine the efforts of school authority figures. Such an attitude is conducive to learning and high academic achievement. The primary finding in the Ford et a1. (1996) study was the impact and subsequent importance of emotional intelligence in mediating and facilitating academic resilience. Therefore, in an endeavor to facilitate academic resilience, it is essential that parents and schools work to help African American adolescents develop or increase their emotional intelligence. The findings from Ford et al.’s research served as the impetus for the current research. Investigating emotional intelligence as a predictor of academic resilience among African American adolescents has beneficial implications for the field of psychology. For example, if emotional intelligence is found to be a significant variable in predicting 58 academic resilience, modules could be developed to teach emotional intelligence to African American children in grammar school. Nonetheless, using this variable as a key construct to predict academic resilience is warranted in part due to the lack of knowledge about it and the possible benefits it could have for the African American adolescent population and the African American community in general. Criticisms of the Emotional Intelligence Construct The construct of emotional intelligence encompasses a set of conceptually related psychological processes involving the processing of affective information. These processes include (a) the verbal and nonverbal appraisal and expression of emotion in oneself and others, (b) the regulation of emotion in oneself and others, and (c) the use of emotion to facilitate thought (see Mayer & Geher, 1996; Salovey & Mayer, 1990, 1994). Although various authors have proposed that emotional intelligence is a type of intelligence, in the traditional sense, contemporary research and theorizing lack any conceptual model of intelligence within which the construct might be placed. The theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence ability proposed by Cattell (1987), Horn (1988), and their associates (see, e.g., Horn & Noll, 1994) is arguably the most efficacious empirically based psychometric model of intelligence (see Stankov, Boyle, & Cattell, 1995). It may be speculated that, within this theory, emotional intelligence will constitute an additional aspect of possibly one or more primary mental abilities underlying crystallized ability. This assertion is based on the assumption that the appraisal, expression, regulation, and use of emotion develop through experience and social interaction in much the same way as do other psychological processes constituting crystallized intelligence. 59 The concept of emotional intelligence also overlaps with Gardner’s (1983) social intelligence, which he referred to as a type of “personal intelligence.” Part of Gardner’s definition focuses specifically on the processing of affective information. According to Gardner, interpersonal intelligence includes the ability to understand other people and know what they feel. In contrast, intrapersonal intelligence involves access to one’s own feelings, the capacity to effect discrimination among these feelings, and draw on them as a means of guiding behavior. The available evidence tends to suggest that emotional intelligence is composed of a number of components that are akin to “low order” or primary factors. For example, the perception of emotion has been found to be related to the expression of emotion (see, e.g., Ekman, Friesen, & Ancoli, 1980). Both emotional appraisal (the ability to accurately identify another’s emotions) and emotional expression (the ability to reexperience these emotions) also appear to be related to empathy (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Although empathy is viewed as an ability within the emotional intelligence framework, much of the work on empathy has considered it a personality characteristic. Moreover, this suggests that the appraisal of one’s own feelings and the appraisal of the feelings of others may be inseparable. In addition, empathy may involve both one’s ability to identify with the feelings of others and general access to one’s own feeling state. The regulation of emotion in the self refers to the meta-experience of mood, or monitoring, evaluating, and acting to change one’s mood. This emotional regulation concerns attempts to repair unpleasant moods while maintaining pleasant ones. Regulation of emotion also includes the ability to alter the affective reactions of others (e.g., the ability to calm distressing emotions in other individuals; Salovey & Mayer, 60 1990). This construct has been poorly operationalized, although there is some evidence that it has been assessed using the emotional intelligence model developed by Goleman (1996). Marshaling emotions in the service of a goal is essential for selective attention, self-motivation, and so forth. According to Goleman, emotional self-control and the delay of gratification underlie all human accomplishment. The Emotional Control Questionnaire (Roger & Najarian, 1989) is thought to measure this component of emotional intelligence. The instrument consists of four scales reflecting aspects of the control of emotion in difficult or trying circumstances: Aggression Control, Rehearsal, Benign Control, and Emotional Inhibition. Until now, the measure has not been used in the empirical investigation of the emotional intelligence construct. This measure was used in the present study. Another criticism of the emotional intelligence construct is that assessments measuring emotional intelligence are all based on self-report measures. As Mayer and Salovey (in press) have pointed out, if emotional intelligence resembles a cognitive ability in the traditional sense, then it is important to use tests of emotional intelligence that directly measure this construct. This principle follows from the fact that it is obviously better to have direct, objective assessment techniques rather than an individual’s self-descriptions of how emotionally intelligent they are (Mayer & Salovey, in press). If emotional intelligence is a type of intelligence, then its distinguishability from various personality traits found in the literature must be demonstrated (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1991). As Mayer and Salovey (in press) pointed out, “a trait is a behavioral preference, rather than an ability” (p. 9). As is the case with many measures of emotional 61 intelligence, the typical instruments for assessing personality rely on self-report techniques. If emotional intelligence is to qualify as a form of intelligence, it must be shown to be independent from personality traits. A number of tests measuring aspects of emotional intelligence are already known to have moderate to high correlations with personality constructs. Consider, for example, the four subscales derived from the Emotional Control Questionnaire (Roger & Najarian, 1989). Rehearsal, specifically, dissatisfaction with interpersonal encounters and an inability to resolve interpersonal conflict) has been found to have a significant correlation with neuroticism. Similarly, Emotional Inhibition has been found to have a noteworthy negative correlation with extraversion. Furthermore, Benign Control, which is viewed primarily as an index for impulsivity, correlates with the Psychotocism scale of the ECQ (Roger & Najarian, 1989). This finding should come as no surprise, given the fact that the Psychotocism scale contains items assessing an individual’s tendency to act impulsively. Another criticism of the emotional intelligence construct is that it is often linked to social intelligence, but the status of the latter construct remains in dispute, particularly in relation to broad, crystallized abilities. Thorndike (1936), found that tests designed to measure social intelligence had loadings on factors defined by verbal ability. Moreover, several putative indexes of social intelligence are, in fact, self-report measures. Considering the overlap in context between measures of verbal and social intelligence, equivocal findings would not be unusual. As Mayer and Salovey (1993) pointed out, social knowledge is required in responding to items on many verbal intelligence tests. Therefore, it is worth noting that two studies have reported finding a factor of social intelligence that is orthogonal to verbal abilities. Ford and Tisak’s (1983) results indicated that a social component could 62 be distinguished from general academic abilities. Marlowe and Bedell (1982) also claimed that their results supported the existence of an independent factor of social intelligence. In exploring the status of emotional intelligence in relation to social intelligence, it is important to note that one’s own and others’ emotions frequently occur in social situations, and evidence demonstrating a distinction between social and emotional aspects of behavior is required. Summag Theories of resilience and emotional intelligence provide insight into characteristics that enhances one's ability to excel in spite of obstacles and adversities. Because many African American adolescents are susceptible to delinquency and high dropout rates (Ford, 1990) as a result of stressful environmental conditions, economic hardships, and social deprivation, there is a need to study new variables that facilitate academic resilience. Emotional intelligence is a new variable that appears promising, particularly in light of the results of the study by Ford et al. (1996). In that study, emotional intelligence was found to be the only significant predictor of academic resilience among five variables. The other four variables were biculturality, stress, locus of control, and social support. 63 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY My primary purpose in this study was to determine whether academically resilient and academically nonresilient (as measured by grade point average) groups of African American college students exhibit significant differences in emotional intelligence and related constructs, which include emotional control, impulse control, optimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience. This chapter provides information regarding the procedures followed in carrying out the study, research participants, instruments used in the study, and data analysis procedures. - Research Hypotheses The following hypotheses were formulated to analyze the data collected in this study. 1. Academically resilient African American college students will differ significantly from academically nonresilient students in terms of emotional intelligence. 2. Academically resilient AfriCan American college students will differ significantly from academically nonresilient students in terms of emotional control. 3. Academically resilient African American college students will differ significantly from academically nonresilient students in terms of impulse control. 4. Academically resilient African American college students will differ significantly from academically nonresilient students in terms of optimism. 64 5. Academically resilient African American college students will differ significantly from academically nonresilient students in terms of attitudes reflective of resilience. Procedures Recruitment of the Sample The study was carried out at a southern inner-city public Historically Black College. This institution was chosen because it comprises predominantly African American students who come from diverse socioeconomic and environmental backgrounds, including: inner-city, rural, suburban, low-income, first-generation, high- socioeconomic, southern, midwestern, east coast, and west coast communities. I talked with the department chair of psychology and the assistant department chair of psychology and explained the purpose and significance of the research. Both of them agreed to allow students enrolled in several psychology classes to be used in the study. The assistant department chair discussed the study with other psychology professors, and they agreed to allow time for their classes to be used for the research. Surveys were sent to the assistant department chair who is also a professor of psychology. He scheduled and coordinated times with the other psychology professors who agreed to let their classes be used for the study; he also administered and collected the surveys. Data were collected during normal class sessions. Before administering surveys, the assistant department chair gave the students a brief description of the research (see Appendix A for the statements made by the professor). Students were informed that their participation in the research was completely voluntary and that there would be no consequences if they chose not to participate. No compensation was given for students’ participation in the study. In addition, before the 65 surveys were administered, students were asked to read and sign a consent form, which informed them of their rights as participants and provided instructions of what to do if any questions or problems arose. Moreover, the consent form provided the participants with a description of the study, information on how to contact the investigator, purpose of the study, and instructions for completing the surveys. However, as an inducement for completing the surveys, a $50 cash prize was offered. Research flirticipamté Participants were taken from 10 undergraduate psychology classes in the college’s psychology department. Five of the classes were general psychology courses; participants in these classes were non-psychology majors. Psychology majors were enrolled in the remaining five classes: a developmental psychology class, a social psychology class, a statistics class, an introductory psychology class, and an abnormal psychology class. In general, it took students between 30 and 45 minutes to complete the surveys. Surveys were completed by 217 students. However, after I carefully examined the surveys, I found that only 129 could be used in the study. Eighty—eight surveys were discarded for several reasons. First, some participants failed to provide identifying information. That information was important to obtain their true grade point averages from the registrar’s office. Second, other participants simply failed to complete the surveys, resulting in a large amount of missing data. Third, some participants did not meet the racial requirement but participated in the study (European, East Asian, and African). Finally, several surveys were discarded because they showed no variation in responses. It appeared that several participants tired during the survey and began to mark the same responses just to finish it. 66 Grade point averages served as a measure of academic resilience. Participants with a grade point average of 3.0 and above were classified as academically resilient. Conversely, participants who had a grade point average below 3.0 were classified as academically nonresilient. I obtained college grade point averages of the participants from the registrar’s office. In this study, the predictor variable was grade point average. The criterion variables were emotional intelligence, emotional control, impulse control, optimism/pessimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience. Instrumentation A demographic questionnaire was used to obtain information from participants concerning their parent’s level of education and socioeconomic status (SES). This information was useful in understanding the level of developmental, emotional, and social support by the participants had received as adolescents. Also, information on the participants’ place of birth was obtained. Researchers have suggested that individuals from inner-city and rural areas experience higher rates of adolescent behavior problems (e.g., juvenile delinquency and incarceration rates) (Schlosser, 1998). Suburban participants were included for comparative purposes. Five instruments were used to collect data for this study. They were (a) the Emotional Intelligence Scale (Schutte et al., 1998), (b) the Emotional Control Questionnaire (Roger & Najarian, 1989; Roger & Nesshoever, 1989), (c) the Life Orientation Test (Scheier & Carver, 1985), (d) the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (Patton, Stanton, & Barratt, 1995), and (e) the Resiliency Attitudes Scale (Biscoe & Harris, 1994). The first four instruments were selected because they represent the most reliable and valid measures of emotional intelligence to date. These measures have been empirically validated through research. However, they have not been normed on African 67 American samples. The final measure, the RAS, was used because it is based on a sound conceptualization of resilience. In addition, the measure has an internal consistency of .87 (Kelso, 1999). Moreover, the RAS was used because it may support findings consistent with participants who score high on emotional intelligence scales and are classified as being academically resilient. With the exception of the RAS scale, the information reported below can be found as stated in “Measuring Emotional Intelligence and Related Constructs” by Schutte and Malouff (1999). The Emotionalirtelligence Scale, The Emotional Intelligence Scale (BIS) is a 33-item self-report measure that was developed to assess an individual’s ability to recognize emotion, express emotion, regulate emotion, and harness emotions (Schutte et al., 1998). The authors used Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) model of emotional intelligence to generate an initial pool of 62 items. On the basis of factor analysis, which generated one strong factor, the authors selected the final 33 scale items. These items, which were the ones with the highest loadings on the first factor, represented all dimensions of Salovey and Mayer’s model. filationshigto emotional intelligence. The EIS is intended to assess emotional intelligence as conceptualized by Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) model. Items assess the ability to adaptively recognize, express, regulate, and harness emotion in the self and in others. An individual who agrees with items such as “I am aware of my emotions as I experience them,” and “I have control over my emotions” recognizes his or her emotions and is able to regulate emotions. Administration and scoring, Respondents use a 5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (I) to strongly agree (5) to answer each item. Items 5, 28, and 33 are 68 reverse coded. The sum of all items equals the total scale score, which can range from 33 to 165. Higher scale scores indicate greater emotional intelligence. Reliabilig. In a community sample, the internal consistency of the scale as measured by Cronbach’s alpha was .90, and for a sample of college students internal consistency was .87 (Schutte et al., 1998). Two-week test retest reliability was .78 (Schutte et al., 1998). Vali_d_i_tv_. Higher scores on the emotional intelligence scale have been found to be associated with greater optimism, more impulse control, more attention to feelings, greater clarity of feelings, better mood repair, less alexithymia, less depression (Schutte et al., 1998), greater empathy, and more self-monitoring (Schutte & Malouff, 1998). Studies have also indicated that higher Scores on the measure predicted higher first-year college grades (Schutte et al., 1998) and better paraprofessional-counselor performance (Malouff & Schutte, 1998). Finally, females’ scores have been higher than males’ and college seniors’ scores have been higher than freshmen (Schutte & Malouff, 1998). The Emotiorfi Control Questionna_ir§ The Emotional Control Questionnaire (ECQ) is a 56-item self-report measure that was developed to assess the tendency to inhibit expression of emotional responses (Roger & Najarian, 1989; Roger & Nesshoever, 1989). It should be noted that this questionnaire has not been updated since its initial development. The items were generated by adapting items from previous personality scales and from a list of emotional experiences and reactions to those experiences provided by a group of students. After the initial factor analyses resulted in factors labeled rehearsal, emotional inhibition, aggression control, and benign control, Roger and Najarian carried out validation work with the subscales defined by these factors. They then revised some of the items in the original scale and 69 added 34 items to expand the pool of items. Examination of the response frequencies for the items and the results of a factor analysis of the larger pool of items led to the creation of the 56-item ECQ. Factor analyses again identified the four factors of rehearsal, emotional inhibition, aggression control, and benign control. The relationship to emotional intelligence. The ECQ taps dimensions of emotional intelligence related to the expression of emotion and the regulation of emotion. Aggression control and benign control of emotions are adaptive, whereas, excess rehearsal of emotions and inhibition of emotions are maladaptive. Respondents agreeing with items such as “If someone insults me I try to remain as calm as possible” from the Aggression Control subscale “Almost everything I do is carefully thought out” from the Benign Control subscale are less likely to engage in interpersonal altercations and are more likely to channel emotions productively. Individuals who agree with items such as “I remember things that upset me or make me angry for a long time afterwards” from the Rehearsal subscale are more likely to experience negative feelings. Those who agree with items such as “When someone upsets me, I try to hide my feelings” may have difficulties in interpersonal relationships. Administration and scoring, Respondents use a true-or-false format to indicate how they feel about each item. Items 2, 5, 7, 9-12, 17-19, 21, 23-26, 28-30, 36, 40, 42, 45, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 55, and 56 are reverse coded. Each of the four subscales consists of 14 items. Following are the items that comprise each of the subscales: Rehearsal, 3, 9, 13, 22, 28, 31, 32, 34, 38, 41, 46, 49, 51, 53; Emotional Inhibition, 1, 6, 8, l 1, 16, 20, 23, 25, 30, 37, 43, 50, 52, 56; Aggression Control, 2, 10, 12, 15, 18, 19, 24, 26, 27, 33, 36, 40, 44, 48; and Benign control, 4, 5, 7, 14, 17, 21, 29, 35, 39, 42, 45, 47, 54, 55. 7O Reliabilig. In a sample of university students, which is the most recent norming data, Roger and Najarian (1989) found good internal consistency for the four ECQ subscales, as measured by the Kuder-Richardson formula, as follows: Rehearsal, .86; Emotional Inhibition, .77; Aggression Control, .81; and Benign Control, .79. Seven- week test-retest reliability was as follows: Rehearsal, .80; Emotional Inhibition, .79; Aggression Control, .73; and Benign Control, .92 (Roger & Najarian, 1989). M Roger and Najarian (1989) found a pattern of relationships between scores on the subscale and other measures that provided evidence of construct validity. For example, higher Rehearsal subscale scores were related to more neuroticism and less interpersonal control, higher Emotional Inhibition subscale scores were related to more introversion and less interpersonal contrOl, and higher Aggressive Control subscale scores were related to less verbal hostility and less assaultiveness. Roger (1995) reported that several studies have indicated that higher Rehearsal subscale scores are related to delayed heart rate recovery and more cortisol secretion during times of stress. Further, Rector and Roger (1996) found that a combination of high Rehearsal subscale scores and low self-esteem predisposed individuals to poor health after a stressful period. The Life Orientation Test The Life Orientation Test (LOT) is self-report measure that is widely used to assess optimism and pessimism. The original scale (Scheier & Carver, 1985) is a 12-item scale consisting of eight key items and four filler items. The revised scale (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) is a 10-item scale consisting of six key items and four filler items. The two versions of the scale are highly related, correlating at .95 (Scheier et al., 1994) 71 Scheier and Carver (1985) generated an initial pool of 16 items assessing outcome expectancies. The final items were selected on the basis of results of factor analyses. Four items were keyed in a positive direction and measured optimism, four were keyed in a negative direction and measured pessimism, and four were filler items intended to disguise the purpose of the scale. Marshall, Wortman, Kusulas, Hervig, and Vickers (1992) suggested that the clear two factor solution representing the dimensions of optimism and pessimism that they found in their research with the scale lent itself to the creation of Optimism and Pessimism subscales. A meta-analysis of a number of studies using the scale also indicated support for the bi-dimensional nature of the scale, supporting the use of the Optimism and Pessimism subscales (Anderson, 1996). Mationahip to emotional intelligence. Individuals with a more optimistic outlook may tend to perceive more positive emotions, repair moods more effectively, and be more adept at regulating emotions than people with a more pessimistic outlook. For example, an individual who agrees with the statement “In uncertain times, I usually expect the best” may be more attuned to positive elements of ambiguous situations and may be better able to maintain adaptive emotions in such situations. Administration and scoring, Respondents use a 5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (0) to strongly agree (4) to answer each of the items. To obtain a total score for the 12-item scale, Items 3, 8, 9, and 12 are reverse scored and then summed together with scores from items 1, 4, 5, and 11. To obtain a total score for the lO-item scale, items 3, 7, 9 are reversed scored and then summed together with scores from items, 1, 4, and 10. For both versions of the scale, higher scores indicate a more positive outlook. 72 The findings of Marshall et a1. (1992) suggested the creation of Optimism and Pessimism subscales when using the 12-item scale. The Optimism subscale comprises of Items 1, 4, 5, and 11. The Pessimism subscale comprises Items 3, 8, 9, and 12. Reliabilig. Scheier and Carver (1985) found that, for a sample of college students, the eight key items in the 12-item LOT had an internal consistency, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha, of .76, and 4-week test-retest reliability of .79. The six key items in the lO-item revised scale had an internal consistency, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha, of .78, a 4-month test-retest reliability of .68, and 28-month test-retest stability of .79 (Scheier et al., 1994). Yam Using the original 12-item version of the LOT, Scheier and Carver (1985) found that, as predicted, individuals who scored high on the scale, indicating a more positive outlook, showed a greater internal locus of control, more self-esteem, and less hopelessness, depression, perceived stress, alienation, social anxiety, and physical symptoms. Supporting the validity of the LOT, Scheier et al. (1994) found that high scores on the test were associated with less depression and better coping, even when other variables, such as neuroticism, anxiety, and self-esteem, were covaried out. Scheier et al. (1994) found that higher scores on the lO-item LOT were related, as predicted, to greater self-mastery and self-esteem, and to less anxiety and neuroticism. Anderson (1996) conducted a meta-analysis of 56 studies that had used the LOT and found a consistent relationship between high scores on the scale and better coping, less symptom reporting, and less negative affect. Marshall et a1. (1992) found support for the validity of the Optimism and Pessimism subscales in that high scores on the Optimism subscale were associated with extroversion and positive affect, whereas high scores on the Pessimism subscale were associated with neuroticism and negative affect. 73 The Banatt Impulsiveness Scale The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) is a 30-item self-report scale, that measures the impulsiveness of individuals. The latest version of the BIS (Patton, Stanton, & Barratt, 1995) is based on an instrument developed first in 1959 (Barratt, 1959) and then revised and refined over the years (Barratt, 1985, 1993). The 11th and latest version was created by eliminating from the previous version of the scale those items that did not contribute to the reliability or validity of the scale. Patton et al. (1995) factor analyzed the responses of undergraduate students, psychiatric inpatients, and prisoners in a maximum-security facility and found six factors, which they labeled attention, motor impulsiveness, self-control, cognitive complexity, perseverance, and cognitive instability. . Relationship to emotional intelligence. Individuals who are not able to control impulses are likely to have trouble harnessing emotions and are likely to act upon their emotions without considering the consequences. For example, an individual who endorse an item such as “I buy things on impulse” is one who is likely to react to the emotional appeal of items without considering the consequences of the purchase. Administration and scoring. Respondents rate each of the items on a 4-point scale of frequency. Items 1, 7-10, 12, 13, 15, 20, 29, and 30 are reverse coded. The sum of all items is the total scale score. Scores can range from 30 to 120, with higher scores indicating more impulsiveness. Reliability. Patton et a1. (1995) found that the internal consistency of the scale as measured by Cronbach’s alpha, ranged from .79 to .82 in samples of students, psychiatric clients, and prisoners. 74 MILL- Evidence as to the validity of the scale comes from correlational studies that showed that more impulsivity, as assessed by the current version of the scale, was related to less reading accuracy (Banatt, Stanford, Kent, & Felthous, 1997; Harmon- Jones, Barratt, & Wigg, 1997), poorer reading comprehension, greater physical aggression (Harmon-Jones et al., 1997), greater impulsive aggression (Stanford, Greve, & Dickens, 1995), and more risk taking (Stanford et al., 1996). Using a slightly different , previous version of the scale, researchers have found a strong association between scale scores and other measures of impulsivity and venturesomeness (Campbell, 1987; Luengo, Carill-de-la-Pena, & Otero, 1991; Carillo-de-la-Pena, Otero, & Romero, 1993). Patton et al. (1995) used the current version of the BIS to compare the scores of undergraduate students, substance-abuse. clients, general-psychiatry clients, and prison inmates. As expected, the prison inmates had higher impulsivity scores than any of the other groups, and the substance-abuse and general-psychiatry clients had higher impulsivity scores than undergraduate students. Barratt et a1. (1997) also found that prison inmates had significantly higher scores than others. Royse and Wieche (1988) gave a previous version of the scale to groups of felons and unwed mothers, who they hypothesized would be more impulsive than a sample of individuals drawn from the general population. They found that the scale scores of both felons and unwed mothers were higher than people from the general population. Also using a previous version of the scale, Castellani and Rugle (1995) found that gamblers scored higher on the scale than others, and O’Boyle and Barratt (1992) found that substance-abuse-treatment clients who used multiple substances were more impulsive than those who used only on substance. 75 The Resiliency Attitudes Seal; The Resiliency Attitudes Scale (RAS) was developed by Biscoe and Harris (1994). In its original format, the RAS contains 72 items that are scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale with responses ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. Thirty-six of the items on the RAS are reversed scored. The RAS scale contains seven subscales: Insight, Independence, Relationships, Initiative, Creativity/Humor, Morality, and General Resilience. Examples of items from the General Resilience subscale are “Failure is something you learn from rather than feel guilty about” and “I am good at making the most of a bad situation.” Research participants indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with the items on each of the seven subscales. A high score on each subscale is indicative of a high level of resiliency. In contrast, a low score on each subscale is indicative of a low level of resiliency. In addition, the RAS provides a composite score of resiliency, which is the sum of scores on 72-items. _S_c_ale development. The first six subscales on the RAS were developed based on Wolin and Wolin’s (1993) conceptualization of resilience. The seventh subscale (General Resilience) was added by Biscoe and Harris (1994). The researchers defined general resilience as the belief that one can survive traumatic events and make things better. Such a belief serves as the catalyst that facilitates persistence in working through and overcoming difficulties. Reliability. The instrument is still under development in that it has not been empirically validated. Therefore, no information is available regarding internal consistency or test-retest reliability for the specific subscales. However, out of curiosity, I calculated the internal reliabilities for each subscale. Results of the reliability analysis revealed that the seven subscales had poor to moderate reliabilities. For example, the 76 reliabilities are as follows: Insight subscale .36; Independence subscale .47; Relationship subscale .56; Initiative subscale .66; Creativity subscale .64; Morality subscale .43; and the General Resilience subscale .73. However, the internal consistency reliability of all items taken together was .85. This was consistent with Kelso (1999) who reported an internal reliability of .87. Kelso also found that the subscales were moderately correlated with each other (r = .49 to .69). Kelso provided some divergent validity evidence in that the RAS was negatively correlated with the Beck Depression Inventory. Data Analysis Procedures The data were analyzed accordingly: 1. The demographic information: was analyzed to generate clear and concise descriptive statistics of the sample used in the study. 2. The five scales were subjected to correlation statistics to determine correlations between the five scales and academic resilience, as measured by grade point average. 3. The five scales were subjected to an independent-samples t test to determine mean differences between academic resilient and academic nonresilient samples. 77 CHAPTER IV RESULTS OF THE DATA ANALYSIS My primary purpose in this study was to determine whether academically resilient and academically nonresilient (as measured by grade point average) groups of African American college students exhibit significant differences in emotional intelligence and related constructs, which include emotional control, impulse control, optimism, and attitudes reflective of resilience. The subjects were African American undergraduate students from diverse socioeconomic and environmental backgrounds, including: urban, rural, suburban, low-income, first-generation, high-socioeconomic, southern, midwestem, east coast, and west coast communities. This chapter begins with descriptive statistics about the study participants. Next, results of the analyses to determine correlations between each of the five scales and academic performance (as determined by grade point average) are presented. In the third section, results of an independent samples t test to determine mean differences between academically resilient and academically nonresilient subjects. Descriptive Statistics Demographic Information Demographic information gathered from the subjects included place of birth, environment, age, gender, class, parents’ level of education and household income. Students’ grade point averages were obtained from the registrar’s office with the participants’ consent. The descriptive statistics analyzed and discussed in this chapter were from the final sample of 129 subjects who returned usable surveys. 78 Gaade Point Averagg Of the 129 participants, 45 (34.9%) had grade point averages of 3.0 or above. Conversely, 84 (65.1%) of the participants had grade point averages below 3.0. The lowest grade point average was 1.24, and the highest was 4.0. The mean grade point average of participants who reported a place of birth was 2.71. Participants who said they were born in the Midwest had a mean grade point average of 2.6, compared to a mean grade point average of 2.71 for participants who were born in the South, 2.78 for those born in the West, and 2.81 for those born in the Southeast. The mean grade point average of participants who reported being raised somewhere different from their place of birth was also 2.71. Participants who were raised in the Midwest had a mean grade point average of 2.47, compared to a mean grade point average of 2.72 for participants who were raised in the South, 3.12 for those raised in the West, and 2.70 for those who were reportedly raised in the Southeast. The 129 participants were classified by the type of environment in which they were raised. The urban participants had a mean grade point average of 2.61 , compared to mean grade point averages of 2.80 for suburban students and a 2.83 for rural students respectively. With regard to gender, females had a mean grade point average of 2.75, compared to a mean grade point average of 2.59 for males. Finally, with regard to class, freshmen had a mean grade point average of 2.74, compared to mean grade point averages of 2.52 for sophomores and 2.68 for juniors. Seniors had the highest mean grade point average of 2.96. 79 Birt_hpl_ace of Subiects Participants were asked to identify their place of birth by city and state. This information was categorized into the following regions of the United States: South, Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, West, Northeast, and other. Participants were from various states, providing a diversified sample representing southern, southwestern, midwestem, and western regions of the country. Southern states included Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Kentucky. Southeastern states included Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina. Southwestern states included Texas and Oklahoma. Midwestern states included Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Kansas. Western states included: Colorado, California, and Arizona. One participant was from Africa. None of the subjects were from the northeastern region of the country. Some of the major cities that the participants were born in were Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Denver, and Los Angeles. Of the 129 participants, of the research study, 92 (71.3%) were from the southern region of the country and 24 (18.6%) were from the midwestem region of the country. Five (3.9%) of the participants were from the southeastern region of the country, and another five (3.9%) were from the western region of the country. Three (2.3%) of the participants were from the southwestern region of the country. Environment of Subiects Participants were asked to identify where they grew up by city and state if this area was different from their place of birth. Of the 129 participants, 98 (76%) grew up in the southern region of the country, and 16 (12.4%) grew up in the midwestem region of the country. Eight (6.2%) of the participants grew up in the southeastern region of the 80 country, four (3.1%) grew up in the southwestern region of the country, and three (2.3%) grew up in the western region of the country. In addition, participants were asked to indicate the type of environment in which they grew up. These choices were urban, suburban, or rural. I defined urban as living directly inside a large city, suburban as living on the outskirts of a large city or town, and rural as characteristic of the country. Of the 129 participants, 68 (52.7%) grew up in an urban environment, 36 (27.9%) in a rural environment, and 25 (19.4%) in a suburban environment. As: Of the 129 students who participated in this study, 15 (11.6%) of the participants were 18 years of age, 26 (20.2%) of the participants were 19 years old, 27 (20.9%) of the participants were 20 years old, 13 (10.1%) were 21 years old, 20 (15.6%) were 22 years old, 7 (5.4%) were 23 years old, 5 (3.8%) were 24 years old, 3 (2.3%) were 25 years old, and the remaining 13 (10.1%) participants ranged between the ages of 26 and 39. The youngest participant was 18 years of age and the oldest participant was 39 years of age; the mean age of all participants was 21.55 years. Gender Of the 129 participants, 36 (27.9%) were males. Ninety-three (72.1%) of the participants were female. Class Of the 129 participants, 35 (27.1%) were freshmen, and 40 (31.1%) of the participants were sophomores. Twenty-seven (20.9%) of the participants were juniors, and 27 (20.9%) of the participants were seniors. 81 Mother’s Level of Education Participants were asked to indicate their mothers’ level of education. They were provided with 11 options to choose from: did not graduate from high school, GED, high school graduate, some college no degree, 2-year college degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, juris doctorate, Ph.D., M.D.lD.O., and unknown or other. The last choice was provided for those participants who did not know or have any contact with their mother. Of 129 participants, 10 (7.7%) reported that their mothers did not graduate from high school, 5 (3.9%) reported that their mothers received GEDs. Thirty-two (24.8%) participants reported that their mothers were high school graduates, and 25 (19.4%) reported that their mothers had some college experience with no degree. Twenty (15.5%) participants reported that their mothers received a 2-year college degree, and another 20 (15.5%) reported that their mothers received bachelor’s degrees. Sixteen ( 12.4%) participants reported that their mothers received master’s degrees. One (.8%) of the participant’s mother received a Ph.D. father’s Level of Education Participants were asked to indicate their fathers’ level of education. Again, they were provided with 11 options to choose from: did not graduate from high school, GED, high school graduate, some college no degree, 2-year college degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, juris doctorate, Ph.D., M.D.lD.O., and unknown or other. The last choice was provided for those participants who did not know or have any contact with their father. Of the 129 participants, 16 (12.4%) reported that their fathers did not graduate from high school. One (8%) of the participant’s father received a GED. Thirty-eight 82 (29.4%) reported that their fathers were high school graduates, and 28 (21.7%) said that their fathers had some college experience with no degree. Sixteen (12.4%) participants reported that their fathers received a 2-year college degree, 14 ( 10.9%) said that their fathers received bachelor’s degrees, and 9 (7%) said that their fathers received master’s degrees. One (.8%) participant’s father received a medical degree. Six (4.6%) participants did not know their fathers’ educational attainment. In comparing the parent’s educational attainment, the participants’ mothers had higher educational levels than the fathers. For example, 20 (15.5%) of the mothers had bachelor’s degrees, compared to 14 (10.9%) of the fathers. In addition, 16 (12.4%) of the mothers had master’s degrees, compared to nine (7%) of the fathers. This situation speaks to the problems African American males are facing in terms of educational attainment. If Afiican American fathers are uneducated, often they are relegated to low-paying jobs, which make it difficult for them to provide for their children. Also, it is believed that this problem contributes to these fathers’ abandoning their children. For example, in this study, six (4.6%) of the participants did not know their fathers educational status because they did not know their fathers. Household’s Combined Annuamcome Participants were asked to report their annual household income. This information provided with insight into the types of opportunities and exposure the student might have had growing up. Of the 129 participants, 12 (9.3%) reported an annual household income of 0 to $9,999. Twenty-one (16.3%) participants reported an annual household income of $10,000 to $19,999, and 20 (15.5%) participants reported an annual household income of $20,000 to $29,999. Twenty-five (19.4%) participants reported an annual household income of $30,000 to $39,999, 19 (14.7%) had an annual household 83 income of $40,000 to $49,999, and 8 (6.2%) had an annual household income of $50,000 to $59,999. Ten (7.8%) participants reported an annual household income of $60,000 to $69,999, and 14 (10.8%) reported an annual household income of $70,000 and above. Agrdemically Resilient Of the 129 participants, 45 (34.9%) were classified as being academically resilient. This means that these participants had grade point averages of 3.0 or better at the time they were surveyed. Agademically Nonresilient Conversely, of the participants, 84 (65.1%) were classified as being academically nonresilient. This means that these participants had grade point averages of less than 3.0 at the time they were surveyed. Discarded Sample It should be noted that there were no distinguishing characteristics of the discarded sample of participants with regard to grade point average. However, the only detectable difference was their inability to complete the surveys or not meeting the racial requirement. Results of Reliability Ana_lyaa§ Before the statistics were run and analyzed, reliability analysis were conducted to determine the reliability of each individual scale and subscale. The results of the reliability analysis were as follows. The Emotional Intelligence Scale had a reliability coefficient of alpha = . 76, compared to an alpha of .90 reported by the developers of the scale (Schutte et al., 1998). 84 The Emotional Control Questionnaire has four subscales: Rehearsal, Emotional Inhibition, Aggression Control, and Benign Control. The reliability analysis for the Rehearsal subscale resulted in an alpha of .75, compared to an alpha of .86 reported by the developers. The Emotional Inhibition subscale had an alpha of .72, compared to an alpha of .77 reported by the developers. The Aggression Control subscale had an alpha of .64, compared to an alpha of .81 reported by the developers. The Benign Control subscale had an alpha of .60, compared to an alpha of .79 reported by the developers (Roger & Najarian, 1989). The third scale used in the study, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, had an alpha of .79, which was consistent with the alpha range of .79 to .82 reported by the developers of the scale (Patton et al., 1995). i The fourth scale used in the study, the Life Orientation Test, had an overall alpha of .62, compared to an alpha of .76 reported by the researchers (Scheier & Carver, 1985). The Optimism subscale had an alpha of .45, and the Pessimism subscale had an alpha of .70. The researchers did not provide Chronbach Alphas for the Optimism and Pessimism subscales. Finally, the Resilient Attitudes Scale had an Alpha of .85 compared to .87 reported by Kelso, 1999. The results of the reliability analysis offered the first indication that the overall results of the present study might be insignificant. Correlations From the Research Study Overall correlations indicated that, of the five scales used, significant results were found for only two of the subscales, Initiative and Morality, on the Resilient Attitudes Scale. Scores on the Initiative subscale were positively correlated with grade point average at the p < .019 level. Also, scores on the Morality subscale were positively 85 correlated with grade point average at the p < .049 level (see Appendix H for individual correlations). _S__gale-to-Scale Correlations A possible explanation of the insignificant results for the remainder of the scales might be that the instruments were measuring too much of the same construct (see Table 1). The following scale and subscale abbreviations are provided to facilitate understanding as to what the scales and subscales mean in Table 1. EIS- EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SCALE REH- REHEARSAL SUBSCALE EMO- EMOTIONAL INHIBITION SUBSCALE AGG- AGGRESSION CONTROL SUBSCALE BEN- BENIGN CONTROL SUBSCALE BIS- BARRATT IMPULSIVENESS SCALE LOT- LIFE ORIENTATION TEST INS- INSIGHT SUBSCALE IND- INDEPENDENCE SUBSCALE REL- RELATIONSHIP SUBSCALE INI- INITIATIVE SUBSCALE CRE- CREATIVITY SUBSCLAE MOR- MORALITY SUBSCALE RAS- RESILIENT ATTITUDES SCALE Because of the insignificant results on all but two of the RAS subscales, Initiative and Morality, I ran correlations on three demographic characteristics to determine whether these characteristics correlated with grade point averages. These demographic 86 .Asté :32 8. 2.. a 285:3... e 8.3.2.5 .. Gases .26. a. 2. a 285:»... 2 8:228 t . ooo. ooo. ooo. ooo. So. who. ooo. _oo. Noo. mmv. _oo. Woo. _oo. Goo—ETNV .Em ooo.. omm. oNv. Ev. ova“. omm. m2. mom. mhmr mum; ooo.- mum. gm. oom. coon—2.50 :ofiaom mN' wwwwwwwtopwwpwww Mean .8615 .9462 .0538 .7692 Mean .1154 .5462 .5077 .7769 Mean .9000 .4615 .9462 .1846 .8154 .8154 .0538 .5000 .3000 .6462 .6154 .7231 .5538 .6462 .6154 161 Std Dev 1.0173 .9750 .9750 .9688 N of Items = Std Dev 1.1590 1.1688 1.0801 1.1632 N of Items = Std Dev H .1868 .2082 1.1365 .7754 1.1191 .1052 .8565 .1829 .1320 .0333 .3082 .9402 .1947 .3051 1.2475 FJFJF'H 14 H F'H Cases 129 129 129 129 4 Cases 129 129 129 129 4 Cases 129 129 129 129 '129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. RASl6 RASl7 RASlB RASl9 RASZO RASZl RA822 RA823 RAS24 RA825 RA826 RA827 RASZB RASZ9 RASBO RAS31 RAS32 RAS33 RA834 RAS35 RA836 RAS37 RAS38 RAS39 RAS40 RAS41 RAS42 RAS43 RAS44 RAS45 RAS46 RAS47 RAS48 RAS49 RASSO RASSl RASS2 RASS3 RASS4 RASSS RASS6 RASS7 RASSB RASS9 RAS60 RAS61 RAS62 RAS63 RAS64 ppwwwwpwwnp.bwwpwwwwwwpasmwwwpwwpppwpwwwwmwuswpwwwpw .0846 .3769 .4308 .6538 .5615 .9000 .4154 .2308 .6385 .2692 .6538 .7692 .3846 .9308 .3385 .0308 .0462 .4462 .0615 .7077 .7692 .0231 .9615 .8462 .9615 .0538 .0769 .0077 .8308 .4000 .8615 .6462 .4769 .9538 .0923 .6923 .0769 .1000 .5385 .5000 .6000 .7538 .0615 .6769 .4000 .6615 .8385 .4769 .6077 162 bah-H1414 H14141414 HDJFJFJF’ H .1139 .8560 .1340 .2558 .0926 .1537 .0327 .8403 .0343 .2746 .4612 .3895 .1903 .9250 .8122 .0561 .8432 .6940 .9380 .2417 .9527 .8396 .4109 .1029 .9184 .9091 .0537 .8021 .2522 .1385 .0173 .1671 .2465 .9793 .9355 .2689 .2365 .0256 .5590 .7900 .2174 .9569 .7445 .3652 .9773 .2235 .8962 .6614 .5498 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 65. RAS65 4.2692 .8145 66. RAS66 4.2154 .7469 67. RA867 4.4385 .7044 68. RAS68 3.7923 .2116 69. RA869 3.4154 1.0982 70. RAS70 3.8000 .9757 71. RAS71 4.0462 .9138 72. RAS72 4.4308 .7568 Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = 129.0 N of Items Alpha = .8523 RESILIENT ATTITUDES SUBSCALES INSIGHT SUBSCALE Mean Std Dev 1. RASl ,2.9000 1.1868 2. RASZ 3.4615 1.2082 3. RAS3 3.9462 .1365 4. RAS4 4.1846 .7754 5. RASS 3.8154 1.1191 6. RAS6 3.8154 .1052 7. RAS? 4.0538 .8565 8. RASB 2.5000 1.1829 9. RAS9 3.3000 1.1320 10. RASlO 3.6462 .0333 Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = 129.0 N of Items Alpha = .3595 INDEPENDENCE SUBSCALE Mean Std Dev 1. RASll 3.6154 .3082 2. RASlZ 3.7231 .9402 3. RASlB 3.5538 1.1947 4. RASl4 3.6462 1.3051 5. RASlS 3.6154 1.2475 6. RAS16 3.0846 1.1139 7. RASl? 4.3769 .8560 8. RASlB 2.4308 1.1340 9. RASl9 3.6538 1.2558 10. RAS20 3.5615 .0926 163 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 72 Cases 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 10 Cases 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = 129.0 N of Items Alpha = .4710 RELATIONSHIPS SUBSCALE Mean Std Dev 1. RASZI 1.9000 .1537 2. RAS22 3.4154 1.0327 3. RAS23 4.2308 .8403 4. RAS24 3.6385 1.0343 5. RASZS 2.2692 1.2746 6. RASZ6 3.6538 1.4612 7. RA827 2.7692 1.3895 8. RAS28 2.3846 1.1903 9. RAS29 3.9308 .9250 10. RAS30 4.3385 .8122 Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = 129.0 N of Items Alpha = .5554 INITIATIVE SUBSCALE Mean Std Dev 1. RAS31 3.0308 1.0561 2. RAS32 4.0462 .8432 3. RAS33 4.4462 .6940 4. RAS34 4.0615 .9380 5. RAS35 2.7077 .2417 6. RAS36 3.7692 .9527 7. RAS37 4.0231 .8396 8. RAS38 2.9615 .4109 9. RAS39 3.8462 .1029 10. RAS40 3.9615 .9184 Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = 129.0 N of Items Alpha = .6597 164 10 Cases 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 10 Cases 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 129 10 CREATIVITY SUBSCALE Mean Std Dev Cases 1. RAS41 4.0538 .9091 129 2. RAS42 4.0769 .0537 129 3. RAS43 4.0077 .8021 129 4. RAS44 3.8308 1.2522 129 5. RAS45 3.4000 1.1385 129 6. RAS46 3.8615 1.0173 129 7. RAS47 3.6462 1.1671 129 8. RAS48 2.4769 1.2465 129 9. RAS49 3.9538 .9793 129 10. RASSO 4.0923 .9355 129 Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = 129.0 N of Items = 10 Alpha = .6423 MORALITY SUBSCALE Mean Std Dev Cases 1. RASSI 3.6923 .2689 129 2. RASSZ 3.0769 1.2365 129 3. RASS3 4.1000 .0256 129 4. RASS4 4.5385 .5590 129 5. RASSS 4.5000 .7900 129 6. RASS6 2.6000 .2174 129 7. RASS7 3.7538 .9569 129 8. RA858 4.0615 .7445 129 RASS9 3.6769 .3652 129 RAS60 3.4000 .9773 129 RAS61 2.6615 .2235 129 RAS62 3.8385 .8962 129 Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = 129.0 Alpha = .4345 N of Items = 12 165 GENERAL RESILIENCE SUBSCALE Mean Std Dev Cases 1. RAS63 4.4769 .6614 129 2. RAS64 4.6077 .5498 129 3. RAS65 4.2692 .8145 129 4. RAS66 4.2154 .7469 129 5. RAS67 4.4385 .7044 129 6. RAS68 3.7923 .2116 129 7. RAS69 3.4154 .0982 129 8. RAS70 3.8000 .9757 129 9. RAS71 4.0462 .9138 129 10. RAS72 4.4308 .7568 129 Reliability Coefficients N of Cases = 129.0 N of Items = 10 Alpha = .7304 166 REFERENCES 167 REFERENCES American Psychological Association (1993). Violence & Youth: Psychology; Response. Anderson, G. (1996). The benefits of optimism: A meta-analytic review of the Life Orientation Test. Personality and Individual Differences. 2L 719-725. Barbarin, O. A. (1993). Emotional and social development of African American children. Journal of Black Psychology. 19(14), 381-390. Barber, B. 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