Linking Family Processes and Academic Competence among Rural African American Youths

A family process model that links family financial resources and parental educational attainment to academic competence during early adolescence was tested. The sample included 90 rural African American youths between the ages of 9 and 12 and their mothers and fathers. Rural African American community members participated in the development of the self-report instruments and observational research methods. Parental educational attainment was linked with family financial resources and with parental involvement with the adolescent's school. Greater family financial resources were associated with more supportive and harmonious family interactions and with lower levels of interparental conflict. Maternal involvement with the child's school, family processes, and family financial resources were linked directly with academic competence and mediated by the development of youth self-regulation.