In response to concerns about the academic and discipline problems of young black male students in a small southern town, the Positive Impact Program (PIP) was developed for at-risk black males. Two possible at-risk factors, locus of control and the quality of parental verbal interaction, were studied for participants in the PIP. Locus of control and communications with parents were compared to those of previously normed groups. Subjects were 42 black males in grades 6, 7, and 8 identified as at-risk by teachers. The sample was found to be more externally controlled than the normative sample of same-age students, but equivalent to that of previously studied at-risk groups. The Verbal Interaction Questionnaire (developed by P. C. Blake in 1991) scores were comparable to those for rural predominantly white male and female high school students. In general, students more internally controlled reported having more positive parental verbal communication, while those more externally controlled had more negative parental verbal communication. Eighteen of the 42 boys were in the PIP, but no significant differences were found for these students on either measure, and no locus of control scores were available from the period before PIP participation. Additional program evaluation will be conducted. One table contrasts students in the PIP and non-PIP groups. (SLD)