Influence of perceived contextual stress on self-esteem and academic outcomes in African American adolescents

Abstract

The study investigated factors that influence academic success among highachieving African American students who are exposed to many stressful life events that are often associated with life in many urban neighborhoods. The participants were 84 public high school students in a large urban southwestern city. The results indicated that adolescent-perceived hassles were indications of parental monitoring in high-risk neighborhoods. Also, parental monitoring was positively related to self-esteem. Within an area-specific examination of selfesteem, the school component mediated the relation between stressful life events and grade point average. © 2002 The Association of Black Psychologists.