Individual and Community Factors Associated With Thriving Among African American Adolescents in the Context of Stressors
Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This dissertation used the transactional-ecological framework along with principles from positive youth development literature to examine naturally occurring individual and contextual factors that promote thriving among African American adolescents. Specifically, this study examined how religiosity, religious support, racial identity, and communalism relate to thriving. This study also assessed the negative influence of stressors on thriving in order to understand how thriving manifests in the context of risk factors. This cross-sectional study included 152 youth participants who were surveyed at five Black churches on the south side of Chicago. Structural equation modeling was used to assess whether the proposed model fit the data. Based on the results, it was concluded that religiosity, religious support, and communalism are significantly related to thriving among African American adolescents. Neither exposure to violence nor racial discrimination was significantly associated with thriving in this study. Findings from this study have implications for future theorizing, research, and practice. Overall, the approach to and findings of this study make a significant contribution to literature on positive developmental outcomes for African American adolescents.
Author: Adia Gooden
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W198331849