Date of Award

1-1-2012

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School/Department

Department of Psychology

Program

Clinical Psychology

Content Description

1 online resource (iii, 71 pages) : illustrations.

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Hazel M Prelow

Committee Members

Leslie Halpern

Keywords

Adolescents, Ethnic Minorities, Longitudinal, Resilience, Risk, Minority youth, Cluster analysis, Social status, Resilience (Personality trait) in adolescence, Problem youth

Subject Categories

Psychology

Abstract

This study identifies specific patterns of risk and protective factors using a person-centered approach (cluster analysis) in low-income ethnic-minority early adolescents, and then used variable centered approaches to examine how these patterns are related to developmental outcomes 6 years later. The present study used data from Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three Cities Study, and comprised of 939 African American and Latino adolescents ages 10-14 at the initial assessment. Three distinct clusters of risk and protective variables were identified; one cluster was high on protective factors, one high on risk factors, and another mixed. These risk, protective, and mixed clusters assessed at wave 1 were then differentially related to delinquency, psychological distress, peer and romantic relationships, and sexual history at wave 3 (6 years after the first assessment). Individuals in the protective cluster were more likely to have positive developmental outcomes, and individuals in the risk cluster were more likely to display negative adaptation. These results indicate that different variables come together in common ways to distinguish children in low-income minority families, and that these patterns predict later outcomes. Identifying these patterns is important in order to target those individuals and help them overcome their risks, increase positive factors, and promote resilient outcomes.

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