This study examined relations among neighborhood disadvantage, parent–child conflict, deviant peer involvement in the neighborhood, and early-starting antisocial trajectories. Antisocial group patterns were identified in 218 low-income boys followed from ages 5 to 11, and neighborhood and family variables were evaluated as predictors in early and middle childhood. Four trajectory groups emerged: one increasing pattern that corresponded with developmental theories of early-starting antisocial behavior; one with initially high and decreasing problems over time; and two low antisocial groups. Parent–child conflict and neighborhood disadvantage were significantly associated with trajectory patterns, with youth in the 2 higher antisocial behavior groups characterized by more neighborhood problems and parent–child conflict than other groups. The results suggest that in early childhood, neighborhood disadvantage and family conflict place children at risk for early-starting trajectories, and that involvement with deviant peers in the neighborhood takes on an increasingly important role in patterns of antisocial behavior over middle childhood.
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Ingoldsby, E.M., Shaw, D.S., Winslow, E. et al. Neighborhood Disadvantage, Parent–Child Conflict, Neighborhood Peer Relationships, and Early Antisocial Behavior Problem Trajectories. J Abnorm Child Psychol 34, 293–309 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-006-9026-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-006-9026-y