Files
Abstract
This study focuses on the influence of single mothering on rural African American youth self-pride and academic engagement. The purposes of this study were to: (a) determine the contributions of competence promoting parenting in predicting youths academic engagement and (b) to ascertain the predictive utility of youth self-pride to youths academic engagement. The subsample, N = 131, was selected from a longitudinal study of families participating in the Rural African American Program for the Study of Competence in Children and Single-Mother Families which consisted of African American single mothers who had a 13- to 16-year-old child. Positive parent-youth relationship quality was significantly linked to elevated self-esteem for girls while low incidences of arguing were significantly associated with elevated self-esteem for boys. Youth self-esteem was significantly associated with academic engagement over and above the contribution of parenting. Findings highlight the importance of competence promoting parenting on youth self-esteem and academic engagement.