Promotive Factors and Psychosocial Adjustment Among Urban Youth

Urban youth are often exposed to compounded risk factors which make them more vulnerable to negative outcomes. Research examining promotive factors which may reduce vulnerabilities to poor psychosocial adjustment among this population is limited. The current study addresses this limitation by examining the impact of self-efficacy and positive expectations about the future, as promotive factors, on levels of depressive and anxious symptomatology, sense of belonging, and friendship among a sample of urban youth. Data are from 1202 4th and 5th grade students enrolled at 27 elementary schools in a high poverty, high minority school district in the Southeastern United States. Using ordinary least squares regression, analyses reveal that promotive factors are significant predictors of psychosocial adjustment and thus have implications for improving negative outcomes among urban minority youth. The findings suggests that interventions aimed at increasing self-efficacy and positive expectations about the future may reduce child and adolescent vulnerability to negative outcomes associated with poor psychosocial adjustment.