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School Attendance Revisited

A Study of Urban African American Students' Grade Point Averages and Coping Strategies

Michigan State University, devine{at}msu.edu

Astin Devine Steward

Purdue University

Jonathan Blair

Clark University

Hanik Jo

Hanyang University

Martin F. Hill

ORConsulting Incorporated

Urban African American first-year high school students' absenteeism was found to be negatively related to grade point average (GPA) and avoidance as a means of coping (use of substances as a way to escape—food, alcohol, smoking, caffeine, etc.) and positively related to use of social support as a means of coping (efforts to stay emotionally connected with people through reciprocal problem solving and expression of affect). Nonattenders tend to have lower GPAs, report using avoidance less often as a means of coping, and report using social support more often. In other words, those students who attend school most frequently tend to have higher GPAs, use avoidance more often as a means of coping, and use members of their social support less often than do those who have more absences. Implications are discussed for educational reform, school counseling service delivery, and future research.

Key Words: urban adolescents • school attendance • coping strategies • minority academic success

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