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Profiles of Future Orientation among Assault-injured Adolescents: Correlates and Concurrent Outcomes

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Abstract

Future orientation has been established as having positive associations with health and educational outcomes for adolescents exposed to violence. However, conceptualizations of future orientation have been inconsistent. This study uses latent profile analysis to understand the interrelationships between measures of future orientation (e.g., commitment to learning, goal orientation, hope, expectancies, fatalism). Participants were 188 primarily African American male early adolescents ranging from 10 to 15 years old (60.6% male; Mage = 12.87, SDage = 1.52). Adolescents in the high- and low-future orientation profiles differed on academic behaviors and aggressive behavior. A discordant profile emerged with adolescents moderate on all measures of future orientation except expectancies. Relational aspects of parenting were associated with higher likelihood of adolescents being assigned to the high- and low-future orientation profiles. These findings suggest the importance of parental warmth in promoting future orientation for adolescents in risky environments, as improving future orientation might mitigate risk for future negative academic comes or engagement in violent behavior.

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Authors’ Contributions

C.D.H. conceived of the study, conducted analyses and drafted the manuscript; S.L.J. jointly conceived of the study, assisted with interpretation of results and writing of the manuscript and participated in design and implementation of the larger study from which data were drawn; T.L.C. oversaw design and implementation of the larger study and assisted with drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (P20MD000198). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 873701, Tempe, AZ, 85287-3701, USA

    Chanler D. Hilley & Sarah Lindstrom Johnson

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1800 Orleans St., Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Tina L. Cheng

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  1. Chanler D. Hilley
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Correspondence to Chanler D. Hilley.

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Parent informed consent and adolescent assent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Hilley, C.D., Lindstrom Johnson, S. & Cheng, T.L. Profiles of Future Orientation among Assault-injured Adolescents: Correlates and Concurrent Outcomes. J Youth Adolescence 48, 1555–1566 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01032-z

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