Title

African-American Parenting Characteristics and Their Association With Children’s Cognitive and Academic School Readiness

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Journal of African American Studies

Publication Date

2012

Date Added

2022-05-16

Abstract

When compared to risk factors, less is known about family characteristics that enhance developmental outcomes among low-income African-American children. The current study explored elements of African-American parenting and their relationship to early childhood academic readiness. Using a predominantly low-income African-American subsample from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N = 105), this investigation examined associations between three maternal factors–beliefs, confidence, and warmth and children’s cognitive and early academic development. We hypothesized that the children of African-American parents who reported more traditional authoritarian beliefs, maternal confidence, and maternal warmth would display higher levels of cognitive development and achievement at school entry. Multiple regression analysis indicated that maternal confidence and warmth were predictive of cognitive development and achievement. Traditional beliefs were found to be inversely related to academic readiness. Together, the predictive variables explained 36% of the variation in cognitive functioning.

DOI

10.1007/s12111-011-9195-9

Keywords

Education

Disciplines

Psychology

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