Skip to main content

Hope in the Social Environment: Factors Affecting Future Aspirations and School Self-Efficacy for Youth in Urban Environments

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal volume 32, pages 131–141 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Having a sense of hope and aspirations for the future are often conceptualized as components of resilience for youth in urban environments. However, less is known about the factors that may influence how young people develop their future aspirations, and how those aspirations may impact their experiences at school. This study uses structural equation modeling to identify some potential pathways through which parental relationships and neighborhood environments may impact perceptions of future success and associations between future aspirations and self-efficacy in school settings for adolescents in urban environments. Data from a self-efficacy questionnaire completed by 489 participants in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (mean age 17.2) were used to test the fit of our conceptual model. The analyses indicated strong relationships among the variables and a robust model fit, as assessed by multiple fit indices. The findings suggest that several factors, including neighborhood safety and supportive parental relationships, can help youth maintain hope for the future and that such future aspirations can bolster adolescents’ sense of self-efficacy in school. Implications of these findings for social work theory, practice, policy, and research are described.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

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

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Adelabu, D. (2008). Future time perspective, hope, and ethnic identity among African American adolescents. Urban Education, 43(3), 347–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aneshensel, C. S. (2002). Theory-based data analysis for the social sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aronowitz, T. (2005). The role of “envisioning the future” in the development of resilience among at-risk youth. Public Health Nursing, 22(3), 200–208.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, A. (2013, January 7). City names 17 schools slated to close. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/city-names-17-schools-slated-to-close/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0.

  • Baker, B. D., & Corcoran, S. P. (2012). The stealth inequities of school funding. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from Center for American Progress website: file:///J:/Useful%20Articles/The%20Stealth%20Inequities%20of%20School%20Funding.pdf.

  • Bravemen, P., Egerter, S., & Williams, D. R. (2011). The social determinants of health: Coming of age. Annual Review of Public Health, 32, 381–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In T. Husen & T. N. Postlewaite (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education (vol. 3, pp. 1643–1647). Oxford, England: Elsevier Sciences.

  • Buhi, E., Goodson, P., Neilands, T., & Blunt, H. (2011). Adolescent sexual abstinence: A test of an integrative theoretical framework. Health Education & Behavior, 38(1), 63–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cauce, A., Cruz, R., Corona, M., & Conger, R. (2011). The face of the future: Risk and resilience in minority youth. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 57, 13–32.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ceballo, R., McLoyd, V. C., & Toyokawa, T. (2004). The influence of neighborhood quality on adolescent’s educational values and school effort. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(6), 716–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, P., & Vazsonyi, A. T. (2013). Future orientation, school contexts, and problem behaviors: A multilevel study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(1), 67–81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, H. L., Mulvey, E. P., & Steinberg, L. (2011). Understanding the school outcomes of juvenile offenders: An exploration of neighborhood influences and motivational resources. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(8), 1025–1038.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clinkinbeard, S. S., & Murray, C. I. (2012). Perceived support, belonging, and possible selves strategies among incarcerated juvenile offenders. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42(5), 1218–1240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cokley, K. O., & Chapman, C. (2008). The roles of ethnic identity, anti-white attitudes, and academic self-concept in African American student achievement. Social Psychology of Education, 11, 349–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earls, F. J., Brooks-Gunn, J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Sampson, R. J. (2002a). Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Master File, Wave 2, 1997-2000 [Computer file]. ICPSR13608-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2005-12-06. doi:10.3886/ICPSR13608.v1.

  • Earls, F. J., Brooks-Gunn, J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Sampson, R. J. (2002b). Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN): Things I Can Do if I Try, Wave 2, 1997-2000 [Computer file]. ICPSR13661-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2005-12-06. doi:10.3886/ICPSR13661.

  • Esposito, C. (1999). Learning in urban blight: School climate and its effect on the school performance of urban, minority, low-income children. School Psychology Review, 28(3), 367–377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagan, J., & Davies, G. (2004). The natural history of neighborhood violence. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 20(2), 127–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (2012). Crime in the United States 2012. Retrieved from the Federal Bureau of Investigation website: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/6tabledatadecpdf.

  • Fitzpatrick, L. (2013). Case closed: Federal ruling means 50 CPS schools will close. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/21957691-418/case-closed-federal-ruling-means-50-cps-schools-will-close.html#.U4QCR_l8Ipg.

  • Gonzales, R. G. (2011). Learning to be illegal: Undocumented youth and shifting legal contexts in the transition to adulthood. American Sociological Review, 76(4), 602–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, A., & Anderson, K. A. (2008). “I have to be three steps ahead:” Academically gifted African American male students in an urban high school on the tension between an ethnic and academic identity. Urban Review, 40, 472–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gym, H. (2013, Summer). School closures rock Philadelphia. Rethinking Schools, 27(4). Retrieved from the Rethinking Schools website: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/27_04/27_04_gym.shtml.

  • Honora, D. T. (2002). The relationship of gender and achievement to future outlook among African American adolescents. Adolescence, 37(146), 301–316.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hox, J. J., & Bechger, T. M. (1998). An introduction to structural equation modeling. Family Science Review, 11, 354–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyle, R. H. (1995). The structural equation modeling approach: Basic concepts and fundamental issues. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 1–15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1995). Evaluating model fit. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 76–99). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, M. A., Perolini, C. M., Fietzer, A. W., Altschuler, E., Woerner, S., & Hashimoto, N. (2011). Career-related success-learning experiences of academically underachieving urban middle school students. Counseling Psychologist, 39(7), 1024–1060.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenson, J. (2010). Advances in preventing childhood and adolescent problem behavior. Research on Social Work Practice, 20(6), 701–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson III, E. S., & Johnson Jr., W. E. (2010). The African American male: The social policy challenge of the twenty-first century. In W. E. Johnson, Jr. (Ed.) Social work with African American males (pp. 327–341). New York: Oxford.

  • Jöreskog, K., & Sörbom, D. (1993). LISREL ® 8: Structural Equation Modeling with the SIMPLIS command language. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. O., Hill, K. G., & Hawkins, J. D. (2012). The role of educational aspirations and expectations in the discontinuity of intergenerational low-income status. Social Work Research, 36(2), 141–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacLeod, J. (2009). Ain’t no makin’ it: Aspirations and attainment in a low-income neighborhood (3rd ed.) [electronic version]. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

  • Maurizi, L. K., Ceballo, R., Epstein-Ngo, Q., & Cortina, K. S. (2013). Does neighborhood belonging matter? Examining school and neighborhood belonging as protective factors for Latino adolescents. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 83(2/3), 323–334.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mello, Z., & Swanson, D. (2007). Gender differences in African American adolescents’ personal, educational, and occupational expectations and perceptions of neighborhood quality. Journal of Black Psychology, 33(2), 150–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mîndrilă, D. (2010). Maximum likelihood (ML) and diagonally weighted least squares (DWLS) estimation procedures: A comparison of estimation bias with ordinal and multivariate non-normal data. International Journal of Digital Society, 1(1), 60–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minnis, A. M., Marchi, K., Ralph, L., Biggs, A. M., Combellick, S., Arons, A., et al. (2013). Limited socioeconomic opportunities and Latina teen childbearing: A qualitative study of family and structural factors affecting future expectations. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 15(2), 334–340.

  • Moran, S., Bundick, M. J., Malin, H., & Reilly, T. S. (2012). How supportive of their specific purposes do youth believe their family and friends are? Journal of Adolescent Research, 28(3), 348–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musil, C. M., Jones, S. L., & Warner, C. D. (1998). Structural equation modeling and its relationship to multiple regression and factor analysis. Research in Nursing Health, 21, 271–281.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols, T. M., Kotchick, B. A., Barry, C. M., & Haskins, D. G. (2010). Understanding the educational aspirations of African American adolescents: Child, family, and community factors. Journal of Black Psychology, 36(1), 25–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguera, P. A. (2003). The trouble with Black boys: The role and influence of environmental and cultural factors on the academic performance of African American males. Urban Education, 38(4), 431–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noonan, A. E., Spencer, R., Belle, D., & Hewitt, A. (2012). Urban adolescents’ understandings of the relationship between background and success. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 29(6), 485–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nurmi, J. (1991). How do adolescents see their future? A review of the development of future orientation and planning. Developmental Review, 11(1), 1–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phalet, K., Andriessen, I., & Lens, W. (2004). How future goals enhance motivation and learning in multicultural classrooms. Educational Psychology Review, 16(1), 59–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Popkin, S. J., Acs, G., & Smith, R. (2009). The Urban Institute’s Program on Neighborhood and Youth Development: Understanding how neighborhoods matter to kids. Retrieved from the Urban Institute website: http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/411974_place_matters.pdf.

  • Reynolds, A. J. (2000). Educational success in high-risk settings: Contributions of the Chicago longitudinal study. Journal of School Psychology, 37(4), 345–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., & Coca, V. (2009). College readiness for all: The challenge for urban high schools. Future of Children, 19(1), 185–210.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J. (2012). Great American city: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schreiber, J. R., Stage, F. K., King, J., Nora, A., & Barlow, E. A. (2006). Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: A review. The Journal of Educational Research, 99(6), 323–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2004). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2010). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

  • Sherraden, M. (2000). Asking questions well: The role of theory in applied social research. St. Louis, MO: Center for Social Development. Retrieved from the Washington University in St. Louis, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Center for Social Development website: http://csd.wustl.edu/Publications/Documents/52.AskingQuestionsWellTheRole.pdf.

  • Stewart, E. B., Stewart, E. A., & Simons, R. L. (2007). The effect of neighborhood context on the college aspirations of African American adolescents. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 896–919.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoddard, S. A., Zimmerman, M. A., & Bauermeister, J. A. (2011). Thinking about the future as a way to succeed in the present: A longitudinal study of future orientation and violent behaviors among African American youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 48(3), 238–246.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Szapocznik, J., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1999). An ecodevelopmental framework for organizing the influences on drug abuse: A developmental model of risk and protection. In M. D. Glantz & C. R. Hartel (Eds.), Drug abuse origins & interventions (pp. 331–366). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Vick, R., & Packard, B. (2008). Academic success strategy use among community-active urban Hispanic adolescents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 30(4), 463–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vimont, M. (2012). Developmental systems theory and youth assets: A primer for the social work researcher and practitioner. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 29(6), 499–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W. (2010). Why both social structure and culture matter in a holistic analysis of inner-city poverty. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 629(1), 200–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1040 W. Harrison St., M/C 309, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    Henrika McCoy

  2. School of Social Work, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, 685 Baldy Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA

    Elizabeth A. Bowen

Authors
  1. Henrika McCoy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth A. Bowen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henrika McCoy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

McCoy, H., Bowen, E.A. Hope in the Social Environment: Factors Affecting Future Aspirations and School Self-Efficacy for Youth in Urban Environments. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 32, 131–141 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0343-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0343-7

Keywords

  • Adolescents
  • Aspirations
  • Neighborhood
  • School
  • Self-efficacy
  • Urban