Future orientation and health related factors among African American adolescents

Suzanna So, Dexter R. Voisin*, Amanda Burnside, Noni K. Gaylord-Harden

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

African American youth are frequently confronted by economic and structural hardships, which can often suggest that their lives do not matter. This study examined the extent to which having high future orientation was related to a broad spectrum of health related factors. Among a sample of 638 largely low-income African American youth, this study assessed measures of demographics, future orientation, delinquency, sexual risk behaviors, and school engagement constructs. Major findings indicated that higher future orientation was related to lower levels of delinquency and a reduced likelihood of engaging in risky sex. In addition, stronger future orientation was related to higher levels of school bonding and student-teacher relationships. Overall, findings point to an overall protective relationship between future orientation and several health related factors among African American youth; this suggests that promoting a sense of future orientation among this population could be related to advancing more healthy youth development.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)15-21
Number of pages7
JournalChildren and Youth Services Review
Volume61
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2016

Keywords

  • African American youth
  • Future orientation
  • Health-related factors

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Sociology and Political Science

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