Abstract
Positive orientations toward the future have been shown to promote youth wellbeing, especially for those living in poor and urban neighborhoods. However, the family and neighborhood factors that contribute to future orientations during adolescence are poorly understood. Drawing on data from 1165 urban adolescents (M = 15.22, SD = 1.58 years old) who participated in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), this study uses multilevel modeling to (1) examine parenting qualities (parent involvement, parent–adolescent relationship quality) and neighborhood disadvantage in relation to youth future orientations; (2) test whether these associations differ for mothers and fathers, and sons and daughters; and (3) test whether parenting qualities are protective for future orientations among youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The findings were generally consistent with hypotheses in that mothers’ and fathers’ parenting were related to higher levels of future orientations, and neighborhood concentrated poverty was related to lower future orientations. Parental involvement benefited girls’ future orientations whereas relationship quality was more salient for boys. Parenting involvement and relationship quality moderated associations between neighborhood disadvantage and future orientations in somewhat different directions. Discussion centers on the implications of family and neighborhood contexts for future orientations of urban youth and directs attention to nuances in parenting dimensions and their significance for boys and girls.
Highlights
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Parenting and neighborhood qualities were related to adolescent future orientations.
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Parenting qualities have different implications for future orientations of boys and girls.
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Parental involvement was related to more positive future orientations for youth in less disadvantaged neighborhoods.
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Parent relationship quality protected against weakened future orientations for youth in more disadvantaged neighborhoods.
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Findings from this study suggest that parenting and neighborhood qualities have distinct implications for future orientations of urban youth.
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Riina, E.M. Associations between Parenting Qualities, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Future Orientations among Urban Adolescents. J Child Fam Stud 30, 3029–3039 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02103-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02103-1