Home Environment and Self‐Efficacy Beliefs among Native American, African American, and Latino Adolescents

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12363
• Author: Robert H. Bradley
• Date: 01 June 2019
• Published date: 01 June 2019

Home Environment and Self-Efficacy Beliefs among

Native American, African American, and Latino

Adolescents

ROBERT H. BRADLEY*

Context helps determine what individuals experience in the settings they inhabit. Con-

text also helps determine the likelihood that those experiences will promote adaptive devel-

opment. Theory suggests likely interplay between various aspects of home context and

development of ideas about self that influence patterns of development for children. This

study addressed relations between two aspects of home life (companionship an d invest-

ment, modeling and encouragement) and three types of self-efficacy beliefs (enlisting social

resources, independent learning, self-regulatory behavior) considered important for long-

term adaptive functioning. The study focused on three groups of minority adolescents

(Native American, African American, Latino). Relations were examined using regression

models that also included four aspects of household risk that often hinder the development

of self-efficacy. Although findings varied somewhat across the three groups, significant

relations emerged between the two domains of home life examined and self-efficacy beliefs

in all three groups, even controlling for overall household risk. Companionship and invest-

ment appeared particularly relevant for African American adolescents, while modeling

and encouragement appeared particularly relevant for Native American adolescents. Both

were relevant for Latino adolescents.

Keywords: Home Environment; Family Relationships; Self-efficacy; Adolescence;

Minority; Family Risk; Modeling

Fam Proc 58:418–430, 2019

Context is a major determiner of the capacities individuals require to function well

within society (Lerner, Johnson, & Buckingham, 2015). Many minority families in the

United States face discrimination and many live in conditions with limited resources and

considerable instability (Cabrera and the SRCD Ethnic and Racial Issues Committee,

2013). Under such circumstances, parents may find it difficult to provide the experienc es

adolescents need to develop the capacities required for a productive and satisfying adult

life (Garcia Coll et al., 1996). In certain respects, the major shift sin life that have occurred

over the past half century have made it even more difficult. Technological advances and

increased mobility have changed how people communicate, how information is exchanged,

how tasks are accomplished, and how social relationships are conducted (Arnett, 2004;

Giedd, 2012; Heerwagen, Kelly, & Kamschroer, 2016; Scott & Blair, 2017). Adults now

*Center for Child and Family Success, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State

University, Tempe, AZ.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Robert H. Bradley, Center for Child

and Family Success, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University,

951 S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287. E-mail: robert.bradley@asu.edu

This research was supported in part by a grant from Health Resources and Services Administration,

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Family Process, Vol. 58, No. 2, 2019 ©2018 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12363