Expanding the discourse on urban youth of color.

Abstract

The authors in this study used regression analyses to examine the effects of urban hassles, ethnic identity, and neighborhood satisfaction on perceptions of school and life satisfaction among a diverse group of 158 early adolescents. The question of whether positive ethnic identity and neighborhood satisfaction could moderate the impact of urban hassles on school and life satisfaction was examined. Results indicated that urban hassles and ethnic identity were both uniquely predictive of school satisfaction. However, the relationship between urban hassles and school satisfaction was not in the predicted direction. Neighborhood satisfaction was a significant predictor of both school and overall life satisfaction. Contrary to the hypotheses, neither ethnic identity nor neighborhood satisfaction moderated the effect of urban hassles on school and life satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of conducting survey research to directly assess the perceptions of urban youth of color, which will ultimately provide a more accurate appraisal of the specific factors that influence their well-being.

Gender Differences in Contextual Predictors of Urban, Early Adolescents' Subjective Well‐Being

“…The results of the study suggest that context-specific variables are relevant to SWB in diverse, urban, early adolescents, which complements the research findings of Garnefski (2000), Huebner et al (2005), and Shin et al (2010). Although ethnic and neighborhood contextual variables were significantly correlated with several SWB outcomes, both failed to emerge as significant predictors in the majority of the regression analyses, with one important exception (i.e., neighborhood satisfaction predicted negative affect for girls).…”

“…Sellers (e.g., Sellers, Chavous, & Cooke, 1998) conducted research on racial centrality, or salience, for ethnic minority youth suggesting that centrality affects patterns of relationships between racial identity and academic outcomes. Furthermore, Shin et al (2010) failed to find evidence that ethnic identity was significantly related to overall life satisfaction.…”

“…One recent study that did examine contextual predictors of SWB in urban adolescents of color focused on determining whether culturally relevant contexts (e.g., ethnic identity, neighborhood satisfaction) would significantly predict school satisfaction and overall life satisfaction (Shin, Morgan, Buhin, Truitt, & Vera, 2010). Although this study found that neighborhood satisfaction was a significant predictor of both school and overall life satisfaction, ethnic identity was only a significant predictor of school satisfaction.…”

Racial‐ethnic Identity in Context: Examining Mediation of Neighborhood Factors on Children's Academic Adjustment

“…Many contextual factors are associated with racial-ethnic identity (Quintana, 2008). Although the family context is widely studied (Bennett, 2006a; Supple et al, 2006), other contexts, namely the neighborhood, are influential in shaping one’s racial-ethnic identity (Bennett, 2006; Byrd & Chavous, 2009; Shin, Morgan, Buhin, Truitt, & Vera, 2010; Supple et al, 2006; Winkler, 2012). A few studies show that neighborhood characteristics (i.e., both socio-demographic characteristics and perceptions of risk) are negatively associated with components of racial-ethnic identity (Bennett, 2006b; Oyserman & Yoon, 2009; Rivas-Drake &Witherspoon, 2013; Supple et al, 2006).…”

Would You Be Happier If You Looked Better? A Focusing Illusion

“…Focusing attention on any aspect of life is thought to amplify its perceived everyday impact, whereas life satisfaction is the resultant of multiple factors such as job satisfaction (Judge and Watanabe 1993), martial happiness (Hawkins and Booth 2005), neighborhood satisfaction (Shin et al 2010), or satisfaction with body (Muñoz and Ferguson 2012;Stokes and Frederick-Recascino 2003).…”