IngentaConnect Social-Demographic, School, Neighborhood, and Parenting Influence...

Author: Eamon, Mary¹

Source: Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Volume 34, Number 2, April 2005 , pp. 163-174(12)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

Using data from a national sample of 388 Latino young adolescents, this study identified the social-demographic characteristics, influences in the broader social environment, and parenting practices that predict youth academic achievement. Youths who were Mexican American, older, and had an English language problem had lower levels of reading and mathematics achievement. Youths of mothers who began childbearing at older ages, had higher levels of intellectual abilities, and reported no English language problem scored better on both types of achievement tests, but poverty was related only to reading achievement. Attendance in higher-rated schools was associated with higher reading and mathematics scores, but residence in better quality neighborhoods was related only to reading achievement. Three parenting practices—providing cognitive stimulation, parent–youth conflict, and academic involvement—predicted both types of achievement. The effect of poverty on reading achievement was explained by residence in lower quality neighborhoods, lower levels of cognitive stimulation, and parent–youth conflict.

Keywords: Latino academic achievement; poverty; school environment; neighborhood influences; parenting practices

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1007/s10964-005-3214-x

Affiliations: 1: School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, Email: eamon@uiuc.edu

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Social-Demographic, School, Neighborhood, and Parenting Influences on the Academic Achievement of Latino Young Adolescents