Project Activities
This project capitalized on an earlier research study where more than 600 pregnant women were enrolled in the study before their children were born and then data were collected from those infants and young children after birth. These children were then followed up at the age of 7 years in a prior study. This IES funded project supported data collection from this cohort of children at age 14. In the original proposal, the team intended to gather data from 200 of the original cohort. The team received additional funding, and gathered data for 372 children from the original cohort. The team also obtained available school achievement data for the original 556 students.
Key outcomes
The findings from this study (Somers et al., 2011) include:
- The research team confirmed that at age 14, community violence exposure is related to poor academic achievement (this was also true at age 7 for this same sample of children). This finding held both for prior exposure (at age 7) and concurrent exposure (at age 14).
- The team also found that negative peer influence and primary caregiver devaluation of achievement at age 14 further hinder scholastic achievement after community violence exposure.
- The research team also found that parental protection when measured at age 7 appeared to ameliorate the effects of early violence exposure, and when parents were married, adolescents demonstrated significantly higher grades, mediated through paternal involvement.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Select Publications:
Somers, C.L., Chiodo, L.M., Yoon, J., Ratner, H., Barton, E., and Delaney-Black, V. (2011). Family Disruption and Academic Functioning in Urban, Black Youth. Psychology in the Schools, 48 (4): 357-370.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
