Do parents play a significant role in the academic achievement and career decision making process of African American children? Studies have confirmed the importance of the role of parents and have even identified preferred parenting styles as having the best academic achievement (Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, & Fraleigh, 1987; Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbusch, & Darling, 1992; Steinberg, Lamborn, Darling, Mounts, & Dornbusch, 1994) and career success outcomes (Amundson & Penner, 1998; Lopez & Andrews, 1987; McCollum, 1998; Penick & Jepsen, 1992; Perrino, 1985; Turner & Lapan 2002; Young, Valach, Paseluiko, Dover, Matthes, Paproshi, & Sankey, 1997). However, current theories regarding the preferred parenting styles for academic and career success outcomes appear to have mixed thoughts regarding what is effective for African American adolescent development (Garg, Levin, Urajnik, and Kauppi, 2005; Pong, Hao, & Gardner, 2005). As a result, this study examined the relationships amongst demographic background variables (gender, family configuration, parent/caregiver education level), parenting dimension variables (responsiveness, demandingness, responsiveness x demandingness interaction), career thoughts variables (decision making confusion, commitment anxiety) and academic achievement (ACT reading and math scores) of African American adolescents. A demographic survey, the Career Thoughts Inventory and the Parenting Style and Parental Involvement Inventory were administered to African American high school juniors and seniors from southeast Michigan to examine the relationships amongst variables. Participants included 117 high school students, ranging in age 16-19 years. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine and analyze the data. A significant model for ACT Reading emerged at a 99% and 95% confidence interval. The findings from these data suggested that reading level, not parenting, is associated with career thoughts processing. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]