Social Capital, Self-Control, and Academic Performance in School-Age Children and Adolescents: Patterns Associated with Race/Ethnicity

Abstract

Children’s abilities to control behaviors and emotions continue to grow from childhood to adolescence. The thesis examined the degree to which the social capital in family and school contexts shaped self-control among four racial/ethnic groups (i.e., Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian American), and whether self-control served as a mediator of the relationship between social capital and academic performance. It consisted of two studies using two major datasets (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten: 2011 and Minnesota Student Survey). Study 1 analyzed a nationally representative sample of children who entered kindergarten during the school year of 2010-2011, following them through second grade. Study 2 analyzed a statewide sample of adolescents in secondary schools (8th, 9th, and 11th grader) between 12 to 18 years old in 2016. In the investigation of racial/ethnic differences, first the measurement equivalence of family/school social capital, self-control, and academic performance were established in each study. Then multi-group Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted to assess whether racial/ethnic membership moderates proposed associations for children and adolescence. Study 1 found that family social capital positively predicted self-control and academic achievement for Caucasian and Hispanic children, while school social capital was not significant for any group. Self-control was a partial and positive mediator of the relationship between family social capital and academic achievement for the Caucasian and Hispanic children. Study 2 found positive associations from family and school social capital to self-control, and self-control partially and significantly mediated associations between social capital and academic achievement for adolescents across racial/ethnic groups. Implications for prevention, intervention, and public policy for different populations of interest are provided.