Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Influence of Future Certainty and Contextual Factors on Delinquent Behavior and School Adjustment Among African American Adolescents

  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This study examined the ability of future certainty—an individual's perception of future stability, operationalized as the likelihood of certain life outcomes–to explain variance in delinquency and school adjustment, while controlling for economic, neighborhood, and family factors, among a cross-sectional sample of 1422 male and 1562 female African American adolescents drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Three kinds of future certainty were examined: future life certainty (e.g., life expectancy), marriage certainty, and college certainty. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses, future certainty and family functioning were stronger predictors than economic and neighborhood variables: neighborhood disorganization and family socioeconomic status. Future life certainty and expectations of attending college were stronger predictors of delinquency among males than females. Marriage certainty was the weakest predictor of the three certainty variables.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Aneshensel, C. S., and Sucoff, C. A. (1996). The neighborhood context of adolescent mental health. J. Health Soc. Behav. 37: 293–310.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barber, C. N., Ball, J., and Armistead, L. (2003). Parent–adolescent relationship and adolescent psychological functioning among African-American female adolescents: Self-esteem as a mediator. J. Child Fam. Stud. 12(3): 361–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bearman, P. S., Jones, J., and Udry, J. R. (1998). The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health: Research Design. Retrieved January 15, 1999 from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth/design.html.

  • Belsky, J., Steinberg, L., and Draper, P. (1991). Childhood experience, interpersonal development, and reproductive strategy: An evolutionary theory of socialization. Child Dev. 62: 647–670.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brook, J. S., Adams, R. E., Balka, E. B., Whiteman, M., Zhang, C., and Sugerman, R. (2004). Illicit drug use and risky sexual behavior among African American and Puerto Rican urban adolescents: The longitudinal links. J. Genet. Psychol. 165: 203–220.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Justice Statistics (2003). Victim Characteristics, Summary Findings. Retrieved November 15, 2004, from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict_v.htm.

  • Bynum, E. G., and Weiner, R. I. (2002). Self-concept and violent delinquency in urban African-American adolescent males. Psychol. Rep. 90: 477–486.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell, C. H., Kohn-Wood, L. P., Schmeelk-Cone, K. H., Chavous, T. M., and Zimmerman, M. A. (2004). Racial discrimination and racial identity as risk or protective factors for violent behaviors in African American young adults. Am. J. Community Psychol. 33(1/2): 91–105.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chisholm, J. S. (1993). Death, hope, and sex: Life-history theory and the development of reproductive strategies. Curr. Anthropol. 34: 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, H., and Elias, M. (1996). Patterns of adolescent involvement in problem behaviors: Relationship to self-efficacy, social competence, and life events. Am. J. Community Psychol. 24: 771–784.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, H. H. (2003). Disadvantaged neighborhoods and adolescent aggression: Behavioral genetic evidence of contextual effects. J. Res. Adolesc. 13: 211–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloward, R., and Ohlin, L. (1960). Delinquency and Opportunity. Free Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., and Cohen, P. (1983). Applied Multiple Regression: Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd edn). Erlbaum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross, W. E. (2003). Tracing the historical origins of youth delinquency & violence: Myths & realities about Black culture. J. Soc. Issues 59(1): 67–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dornbusch, S. M., Erickson, K. G., Larid, J., and Wong, C. A. (2001). The relation of family and school attachment to adolescent deviance in diverse groups and communities. J. Adolesc. Res. 16: 396–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., and West, D. J. (1995). Effects of marriage, separation, and children on offending by adult males. In Hagen, J. (ed.). Current Perspectives on Aging and the Life Cycle: Delinquency and Disrepute in the Life Course. CT: JAI Press, Greenwich, pp. 249–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiegelman, S., Howard, D. E., Li, X., and Cross, S. I. (2000). Psychosocial and environmental correlates of violence perpetration among African American youth. J. Adolesc. Health 27: 202–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flannery, D. J., Williams, L. L., and Vazsonyi, A. T. (1999). Who are they with and what are they doing? Delinquent behavior, substance use, and early adolescents’ after-school time. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 69: 247–253.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Florsheim, P., Tolan, P., and Gorman-Smith, G. (1996). Family processes and risk for externalizing behavior problems among African American and Hispanic boys. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 64, 1222–1230.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, A. S., and Glassman, K. (2000). Family risk factors versus peer risk factors for drug abuse: A longitudinal study of an African American urban community sample. J. Substance Abuse Treatment 18: 267–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furstenberg, F. F. (1993). How families manage risk and opportunity in dangerous neighborhoods. In Wilson, W. J. (ed.), Sociology and the Public Agenda. Sage, Newbury Park, CA pp. 231–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldenberg, J. L., Pyszsczynski, T., McCoy, S. K., Greenberg, J., and Solomon, S. (1999). Death, sex, love, and neuroticism: Why is sex such a problem? J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 77: 1173–1187.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, N. A., Cauce, A. M., Friedman, R. J., and Mason, C. A. (1996). Family, peer, and neighborhood influences on academic achievement among African-American adolescents: One-year prospective effects. Am. J. Comm. Psychol. 24: 365–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M. R., and Hirschi, T. (1990). A General Theory of Crime. Stanford University Press, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper, G. W., and Robinson, W. L. (1999). Pathways to risk among inner-city African American female adolescents: The influence of gang membership. Am. J. Comm. Psychol. 27(1): 383–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, E. M., Ross, L. T., and Low, B. S. (1997). The role of future unpredictability in human risk-taking. Hum. Nat. 8: 287-325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hindelang, M. J., Hirschi, T., and Weis, J. (1981). Measuring Delinquency. Sage, Beverly Hills.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T., and Gottfredson, M. R. (1995). Control theory and the life-course perspective. Stud. Crime Crime Prev. 4: 131–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoge, R. D., Andrews, D. A., and Leschied, A. W. (1996). An investigation of risk and protective factors in a sample of youthful offenders. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry Allied Discip. 37: 419–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joseph, J. (1996). School factors and delinquency: A study of African American Youths. J. Black Stud. 26(3): 340–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keough, K. A., Zimbardo, P. G., and Boyd, J. N. (1999). Who's smoking, drinking, and using drugs? Time perspective as a predictor of substance abuse. Basic Appl. Soc. Psychol. 21: 149–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLoyd, V. C. (1990). The impact of economic hardship on black families and children: Psychological distress, parenting, and socioemotional development. Child Dev. 61, 311–346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescent-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychol. Rev. 100: 674–701.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2003). Population statistics. Retrieved November 15, 2004, from http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/population/index.html.

  • Ogbu, J. U. (1988). Cultural diversity and human development. New Dir. Child Dev. 42: 11–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogbu, J. U. (1994). Racial stratification and education in the United States: Why inequality persists. Teach. Coll. Rec. 96: 264–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogbu, J. U., and Stern, P. (2001). Caste status and intellectual development.). In Sternberg, R., and Grigorenko, E. (eds.), Environmental Effects on Cognitive Abilities. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 3–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parham, T. A., White, J. L., and Ajamu, A. (2000). The Psychology of Blacks (3rd edn). Prentice Hall, New Jersey, pp. 24–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peeples, F., and Loeber, R. (1994). Do individual factors and neighborhood context explain ethnic differences in juvenile delinquency? J. Quant. Criminol. 10: 141–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., Giller, H., and Hagell, A. (1998). Antisocial Behavior by Young People. Cambridge University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J. (1997). Collective regulation of adolescent misbehavior: Validation results from eighty Chicago neighborhoods [Special Issue]. J. Adolesc. Res. 12: 227–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., and Laub, J. H. (1993). Crime in the Making: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., Morenoff, J., and Earls, F. (1999). Beyond social capital: Spatial dynamics of collective efficacy for children. Am. Sociol. Rev. 74: 633–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, C. R., and McKay, H. D. (1969). Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheidow, A. J., Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., and Henry, D. B. (2001). Family and community characteristics: Risk factors for violence exposure in inner-city youth. J. Comm. Psychol. 29: 345–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., and Pyszsczynski, T. (1999). A terror management theory of social behavior: The psychological functions of self-esteem and cultural worldviews. In Zanna, M. P. (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, pp. 91–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tatum, B. L. (1996). An analysis of factors contributing to the delinquency of Black youth. J. Black Stud. 26(3): 356–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, R. D., and Roberts, D. (1995). Kinship support and maternal and adolescent well-being in economically disadvantaged African-American families. Child Dev. 66: 1585–1597.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Unger, D. G., and Wandersman, A. (1985). The importance of neighbors: The social, cognitive, and affective components of neighboring. Am. J. Comm. Psychol. 13: 1985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United States Census Bureau (2003). Poverty-Current Population Survey. Retrieved November 15, 2004, from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html.

  • Vazsonyi, A. T., and Flannery, D. J. (1997). Early adolescent delinquent behaviors: Associations with family and school domains. J. Early Adolesc. 17: 271–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, A. (1997). Methodological individualism and vertical integration in the social sciences. Behav. Philos. 25: 121–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiebe, R. P. (2004). Expanding the model of human nature underlying the General Theory of Crime: Implications for the constructs of self-control and opportunity. Aust. N Z J. Criminol. 37: 65–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, M., and Daly, M. (1997). Life expectancy, economic inequality, homicide, and reproductive timing in Chicago neighborhoods. Br. Med. J. 314: 4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, G., and Dunham, R. (2001). Race, class, and attitudes toward crime control: The views of the African American middle class. Crim. Justice Behav. 28: 259–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimbardo, P. G., and Boyd, J. N. (1999). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable, individual-differences metric. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 77: 1271–1288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, M. A., and Maton, K. I. (1992). Life-style and substance use among male African-American urban adolescents: A cluster analytic approach. Am. J. Comm. Psychol. 20: 121–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Interests: Examining racial/ethnic/cultural factors related to criminal competencies; development of culturally relevant treatment programs; exploration of risk and protective factors for juvenile violence and delinquency (with an emphasis on African American, Latino, and female offenders). To whom correspondence should be addressed at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Department of Forensic Psychology, The City University of New York, 445 W. 59th St., 2124 North Hall, New York, NY, 10019, USA

    Roslyn M. Caldwell (Associate Professor of Psychology)

  2. Research Interests: Crime & personality, psychopathy, self-control, person-environment interactions, adolescent risk behaviors, future uncertainty, child maltreatment, Fitchburg State College, Behavioral Sciences Department, 105A Percival Hall, Fitchburg, MA, 01420, USA

    Richard P. Wiebe (Associate Professor)

  3. Research Interests: The interactions between individual processes and contextual triggers and constraints using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. More recent research focuses on examining the construction and use of social support to reduce relapse risk among recovering college students, Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409-1162, USA

    H. Harrington Cleveland (Associate Professor)

Authors
  1. Roslyn M. Caldwell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard P. Wiebe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. H. Harrington Cleveland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roslyn M. Caldwell.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Caldwell, R.M., Wiebe, R.P. & Cleveland, H.H. The Influence of Future Certainty and Contextual Factors on Delinquent Behavior and School Adjustment Among African American Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 35, 587–598 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9031-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9031-z

KEY WORDS:

Search

Navigation