Future orientation and health related factors among African American adolescents

• Future orientation and health related factors poorly understood among African American youth
• Higher future orientation related to lower delinquency, drug use and risky sex
• Higher future orientation related to better mental health and school engagement constructs

African American youth are frequently confronted by economic and structural hardships, which can often suggest that their lives do not matter. This study examined the extent to which having high future orientation was related to a broad spectrum of health related factors. Among a sample of 638 largely low-income African American youth, this study assessed measures of demographics, future orientation, delinquency, sexual risk behaviors, and school engagement constructs. Major findings indicated that higher future orientation was related to lower levels of delinquency and a reduced likelihood of engaging in risky sex. In addition, stronger future orientation was related to higher levels of school bonding and student-teacher relationships. Overall, findings point to an overall protective relationship between future orientation and several health related factors among African American youth; this suggests that promoting a sense of future orientation among this population could be related to advancing more healthy youth development.