CHICAGO, Jan. 19 A U.S. study shows that a student's grade point average is a strong predictor of behavior for Asian-American youth as well as for other youth.
A major survey of more than 13,000 teenagers is the first to examine the relationship between behavior and grade point averages across ethnic groups, although there have been other studies that have shown in general that students with good grades also are more likely to stay out of trouble.
This study is a first step in debunking the stereotype of Asian-Pacific Island youth, especially that which depicts them as having polarized behavior, said study author Yoonsun Choi of the University of Chicago ' s School of Social Service Administration. The polarized image gets further support from highly publicized crime among Asian-Americans, including a brutal murder by high achieving Asian-American teens in California in 1993. That crime was the basis for a 2003 film, Better Luck Tomorrow.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
