Do Gender Differences Exist in the Academic Identification of African-American Elementary-School Aged Children?

The disidentification hypothesis predicts that African-American boys achieve less in school than African-American girls do because boys have less personal investment in doing well academically (i.e., they are disidentified). When do such gender differences emerge? Using self-perception and achievement data from longitudinal studies of children (N = 113) at high-risk for academic problems because they come from low-income families, the authors examined whether elementary school-aged and early adolescent African-American boys are more prone to low achievement and disidentification than African-American girls. Multiple regression analyses indicated no gender differences in reading or mathematics achievement between boys and girls at age 8 or at age 12. At 12, African-American boys' self-esteem was predicted by academic performance in ways similar to that of African-American girls. Thus, no gender differences emerged in elementary school achievement and no gender-specific disengagement patterns were confirmed among at-risk African-American students.