Correlates of academic performance among school-age African American males in public housing

This study contributes to ongoing effort to understand correlates of academic performance in school age African American male adolescents in public housing (N=220). Guided by problem behavior theory (PBT), we examine the effects of depressive symptoms, anxiety sensitivity and delinquent behavior on academic performance. The effect of age and environmental factors is also assessed. Results provide partial support for PBT and suggest that delinquent behavior was positively related to academic performance while age and anxiety sensitivity were inversely related to the dependent variable. Although depressive symptoms was not related to the dependent variable, the interaction term indicated that when youth reported depressive symptoms below the 24 cut-off point age had no effect on their academic performance. Implications for policy and scholarship are presented.