Family Profiles and Educational Attainment.

The educational attainment of participants in the Chicago Longitudinal Study (93% Black and 7% Hispanic) was examined. Cluster analysis on measures of human capital resources, family dynamics and demographics was used to identify four distinct profiles of families. In general, children who had family profiles characterized by higher levels of human capital resources and more favorable scores on indictors of family functioning were more likely than other children to have higher educational attainment. Moreover, children who experienced a positive change in family profile characteristics between the ages of 8 and 12 were more likely than other children to have higher educational attainment. Implications for intervention and research are discussed.