The Role of Community Involvement in Fostering Investment Behavior in Low-Income Black Adolescents: A Theoretical Perspective

A framework for studying community actions to improve the status of low-income Black adolescents is presented. The framework identifies processes predominant in community activities and differentiates them according to content, frequency, and relation of outcome andprocess. Further, the processes are linked to the outcomes expected for youth who participate in community programs and to research methods for examining the outcomes. Investment behavior is described as one outcome that may be particularly amenable to community action, with theoretical significance to achievement outcomes.