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The impact of the transition to high school on the self‐system and perceived social context of poor urban youth
Author(s) -
Seidman Edward,
Lawrence Aber J.,
Allen LaRue,
French Sabine Elizabeth
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/bf02506794
Subject(s) - disengagement theory , health psychology , psychology , ethnic group , context (archaeology) , developmental psychology , normative , academic achievement , peer group , social environment , public health , social psychology , gerontology , medicine , sociology , political science , social science , nursing , anthropology , law , paleontology , biology
Examined the effects of the normative school transition to senior high school ( n =330) on the self‐system and perceived school and peer social contexts of poor, black ( n =83), European American ( n =115), Latino ( n =105), and Asian American ( n =27) youth in the public school systems of three Eastern urban cities. The only negative effect of the school transition on the self‐system was a decline in grade point average (GPA). Concurrently, the school transition was perceived to be associated with changes in the school and peer contexts. Across the transition, students reported increased disengagement from school (i.e., increased social support and extracurricular involvement) and increased engagement with peers (i.e., decreased daily hassles and increased involvement). These changes in the school and peer microsystems, like the changes in the self‐system, were also common across race/ethnicity and gender. In addition, transition‐associated school changes, and in particular changes in daily academic demands/hassles and involvement in school activities, were associated with changes in the academic dimensions of the self‐system (i.e., academic efficacy expectations and GPA). Results and implications for preventive intervention are discussed within a developmental mismatch framework.