Overview
The Teens in School Project is a longitudinal research study of factors that influence African American youth's school success and their transition to high school. Begun in 1990 with funding from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, we are currently following 2 groups of African American youth and their families: 70 youth who we have been following since infancy and 70 youth who we have been following since middle school. We are examining the role of child, family, and school factors affecting the school success of African American youth including the role of race, culture and peer relationships. The project is funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Aims of the Study
1. To describe the developmental trajectories of African American youths' social skills and
knowledge, peer relations, and language, and school competence from
infancy through early adolescence and the transition to high school.
2. To determine the multiple child, family, and school predictors of school competence of
African Americans in adolescence within an ecological model of child development.
3. To identify mediators of the anticipated negative effects of exposure to multiple
risks for the academic achievement and adjustment of African American youth during the
transition to high school.
4. To determine the multiple youth, peer, and school characteristics that serve as
protective factors for the school competence of African American youth during the
transition to high school.
