ERIC Number: EJ1215157
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jun
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1053-1890
EISSN: N/A
Do Extended Family Members Protect Children from Disadvantaged Neighborhoods? Focusing on Behavioral Problems of Children
Child & Youth Care Forum, v48 n3 p427-447 Jun 2019
Background: The developmental-ecological model highlights the contextual environments that influence children's emotional and behavioral adjustment. No previous research considers neighborhood characteristics when examining the influence of extended family members. Objective: This study investigates the characteristics of neighborhoods where extended family households reside, and the confounding and moderating effects of extended family household structure and the neighborhood influences of income and co-ethnic concentration levels. Method: Data come from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study and the decennial census. The analytical sample includes 1553 children between the ages of 3 and 11 years, clustered in 1191 households in 65 census tracts. This study uses multilevel linear regression modeling. Results: Extended family households are more likely than nuclear families to live in lower-income neighborhoods, but with similar proportions of co-ethnics. Children in extended family households show higher levels of both internalizing and externalizing behaviors compared to children in nuclear families, an effect not explained by their neighborhood environments. Extended family members moderate the neighborhood effects, boosting advantages within co-ethnic concentrated neighborhoods. With a higher proportion of co-ethnics in their neighborhoods, children in extended families show lower levels of externalizing behaviors compared to children in nuclear families. Conclusion: Co-resident extended family members not only predict child internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems but also moderate their neighborhood environments. This study provides policy implications, highlighting the potential of extended members to promote child development.
Descriptors: Family (Sociological Unit), Family Influence, Neighborhoods, Disadvantaged, Disadvantaged Environment, Child Behavior, Behavior Problems, Adjustment (to Environment), Low Income Groups, Children, Adolescents, Child Development
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH); National Institute on Aging (DHHS/NIH); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California (Los Angeles)
Grant or Contract Numbers: HD35944; HD49865; AG22005; ES13907