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Author: Varner, Fatima
Resulting in 5 citations.
1. Mandara, Jelani
Greene, Nereira
Varner, Fatima
Intergenerational Predictors of the Black-White Achievement Gap in Adolescence
Presented: Cambridge, MA, Achievement Gap Initiative Conference, Harvard University, June 2006.
Also: http://agi.harvard.edu/events/download.php?id=41
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
Keyword(s): Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Ethnic Differences; Grandparents; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Parenthood; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Intergenerational predictors of the Black-White achievement gap among 2108 adolescents from the NLSY were examined. The results showed that the gaps in SES and achievement significantly reduced over the past few generations. Moreover, grandparents' education and occupational prestige accounted for 20% of the achievement gap, but were completely mediated by parent and adolescent factors. Parents' SES, achievement, and parenting accounted for almost all of the remaining ethnic differences in math and reading scores. Parental demandingness and adolescent health and motivation had particularly large unique effects on achievement. It was concluded that adjusting for these differences across generations would, theoretically, all but eliminate the Black-White test score gap. The need for culturally specific parenting interventions was also discussed.
Bibliography Citation
Mandara, Jelani, Nereira Greene and Fatima Varner. "Intergenerational Predictors of the Black-White Achievement Gap in Adolescence." Presented: Cambridge, MA, Achievement Gap Initiative Conference, Harvard University, June 2006.
2. Mandara, Jelani
Greene, Nereira
Varner, Fatima
Intergenerational Predictors of the Black-White Achievement Gap in Adolescence
Working Paper, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, 2006
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University
Keyword(s): Birthweight; Family Structure; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Household Composition; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Parenting Skills/Styles; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Racial Differences; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Intergenerational predictors of the Black-White achievement gap among 2108 adolescents from the NLSY were examined. The results showed that the gaps in SES and achievement significantly reduced over the past few generations. Moreover, grandparents' education and occupational prestige accounted for 20% of the achievement gap, but were completely mediated by parent and adolescent factors. Parents' SES, achievement, and parenting accounted for almost all of the remaining ethnic differences in math and reading scores. Parental demandingness and adolescent health and motivation had particularly large unique effects on achievement. It was concluded that adjusting for these differences across generations would, theoretically, all but eliminate the Black-White test score gap. The need for culturally specific parenting interventions was also discussed.
Bibliography Citation
Mandara, Jelani, Nereira Greene and Fatima Varner. "Intergenerational Predictors of the Black-White Achievement Gap in Adolescence." Working Paper, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, 2006.
3. Mandara, Jelani
Varner, Fatima
Greene, Nereira
Richman, Scott
Intergenerational Family Predictors of the Black–White Achievement Gap
Journal of Educational Psychology 101,4 (November 2009): 867-878.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WYD-4XRB1BJ-8&_user=10&_coverDate=11%2F30%2F2009&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1445411383&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=a58744d92191a40bde5e2d07444cc995&searchtype=a
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Chores (see Housework); Ethnic Differences; Family Structure; Grandparents; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Housework/Housewives; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Parenting Skills/Styles; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading)

The authors examined intergenerational family predictors of the Black–White achievement gap among 4,406 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. An intergenerational model of the process by which family factors contribute to the achievement gap was also tested. The results showed that the ethnic gaps in socioeconomic status (SES) and achievement had significantly reduced over the past few generations. Moreover, measures of grandparent SES, mothers' achievement, parent SES, and a comprehensive set of reliable parenting practices explained all of the ethnic differences in achievement scores. Parenting practices such as creating a school-oriented home environment, allowing adolescents to make decisions, and not burdening them with too many chores had particularly important effects on the achievement gap. The authors conclude that adjusting for these differences would eliminate the ethnic achievement gap.
Bibliography Citation
Mandara, Jelani, Fatima Varner, Nereira Greene and Scott Richman. "Intergenerational Family Predictors of the Black–White Achievement Gap." Journal of Educational Psychology 101,4 (November 2009): 867-878.
4. Mandara, Jelani
Varner, Fatima
Richman, Scott
Do African American Mothers Really "Love" Their Sons and "Raise" Their Daughters?
Journal of Family Psychology 24,1 (February 2010): 41-50.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0893320010600062
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Behavioral Differences; Behavioral Problems; Bias Decomposition; Black Family; Black Studies; Gender Differences; Siblings; Sociability/Socialization/Social Interaction

This study assessed 1500 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth to test the hypothesis that African American mothers differentially socialize their girls and boys. The results showed that later-born boys had fewer chores, argued more with their mothers, lived in less cognitively stimulating homes, and were not allowed to make the same decisions as were the girls or firstborn boys at the same age. The later-born boys were also lowest in achievement and highest in externalizing behaviors. Parenting differences accounted for the achievement differences but not for the externalizing behavior differences. It was concluded that the later-born boys would achieve at the same rates as their siblings if they were socialized in the same manner as their siblings.
Bibliography Citation
Mandara, Jelani, Fatima Varner and Scott Richman. "Do African American Mothers Really "Love" Their Sons and "Raise" Their Daughters? ." Journal of Family Psychology 24,1 (February 2010): 41-50.
5. Varner, Fatima
Mandara, Jelani
Marital Transitions and Changes in African American Mothers' Depressive Symptoms: The Buffering Role of Financial Resources.
Journal of Family Psychology 23,6 (December 2009): 839-847.
Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=2009-23534-009
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Keyword(s): Assets; Black Family; Depression (see also CESD); Divorce; Health, Mental/Psychological; Marital Status

The effects of changes in marital status on the changes in depressive symptoms of 443 African American mothers from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY) were examined. Results showed that those mothers who exited marriage increased in depressive symptoms relative to continuously married and newly married mothers. Moreover, mothers who entered marriage later experienced the same level of depressive symptoms as continuously married mothers. However, financial resources moderated the effects of marital transitions. Those mothers with more financial resources did not experience an increase in depressive symptoms after divorce, but those with fewer resources experienced a large increase. It was concluded that divorce is a risk factor for mental health concerns among African American mothers, but financial resources serve as a protective factor.
Bibliography Citation
Varner, Fatima and Jelani Mandara. "Marital Transitions and Changes in African American Mothers' Depressive Symptoms: The Buffering Role of Financial Resources." Journal of Family Psychology 23,6 (December 2009): 839-847.