The Tales of Our Six Boys: Findings on the Self-Esteem and Confidence of “Our Boys”

Background/Purpose:Youth from distressed communities of color face multiple adversities including health and educational challenges. The six youth participating in the Homewood Pitt-Bridge program, “Our Boys,” began the program with limited knowledge of asthma and ambivalent about their future plans. This uncertainty about the future seemed to reflect primarily their lack of confidence and self-esteem as well as their critical thinking skills. Over the course of the program, we tracked progress and their plans to pursue college. These youth build upon the preliminary findings of the Healthy Living, Healthy Learning, and Healthy Lives (HL3) research and participated in the CBPR process over the 17-week course.   

Methods:We used the validated pre/post measures created by Robert Branch, MD of the [affiliation?] as well as a brief interview to assess program impacts. This included: 1) critical thinking in everyday life scale; (2) sense of coherence Ð orientation to life questionnaire; and (3) a brief interview to qualitatively assess the risks, strengthens and weaknesses of Homewood to better understand their concerns about the social, educational and community environment. We were particularly interested in the level of confidence and self-esteem these six youth demonstrated related to their research and science capabilities. We also inquired about the interest in pursuing college before and after the program as another indication of how this research project changed their view of themselves and their capacity to be researchers and leaders.

Results:Over the course of the 17-weeks, we noted improvements in confidence, self-esteem and critical thinking of “Our Boys”. This was most evident in ownership of the project, the dissemination of the findings and use of critical thinking in both academic and community settings. We also observed a change in the students’ outlook in pursuing college from dismal to optimistic. Of the six youth, three went on to college, one at a highly esteemed private institute and two others at public universities. Of the remaining three students, two have been accepted at both private and public universities. One is considering community college.

Conclusions/Implications: Prior to participation and partnership with community-engaged researchers, “Our Boys” lacked self-esteem, confidence and critical thinking skills. Lacking these skills, placed these youth at risk for drop-out, unemployment and/or underemployment in their formative years and possible engagement in at-risk behaviors such as violence, drug use or drug trafficking. However, through their participation, they learned critical skills that improved their chances for academic and social advancement and likely improved health outcomes. It also assisted these youth in making final decisions to pursue college as a next steps post high school. These six youth are the first generation from their family to pursue a college education. They are also part of a small group of students from their local high school to become certified researchers and to pursue a college education. This program should be considered to engage other students in project-based learning that ignites their intellectual curiosity and creativity.