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Neighborhood Characteristics, Parenting, and Children’s Safety

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Abstract

Recent studies highlight the importance of neighborhood context for child and family well-being. Yet challenges to research on neighborhood effects remain; research on young children is sparse, as is research on neighborhood effects on parenting. Measurement also continues to challenge researchers, particularly in devising non-invasive means of gauging neighborhood characteristics. The present study seeks to address these issues by using data from a newly developed observational measure of neighborhood characteristics to examine parent reports of the safety of neighborhood children in the home and self-reports of parenting. The results showed that neighborhood characteristics accounted for 23% of the variance in parent perceptions of children's safety in the home, with neighborhood physical appearance strongly predicting children's safety. Neighborhood effects on self-reported parenting were more modest, accounting for just 6% of the variance in parents' reports of nurturing interactions with their children; vigilance for the safety of the neighborhood was a significant predictor. The study has implications for observational measurement of neighborhood effects and for policy and program practices to improve child and family well-being through neighborhood change.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from The Duke Endowment. The author wishes to thank Kara Argus, Amy Kracker, Melissa Putney, and Barbara Rizzo for their assistance with data collection.

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  1. Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, Clemson University, 158 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA

    James R. McDonell

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  1. James R. McDonell
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Correspondence to James R. McDonell.

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McDonell, J.R. Neighborhood Characteristics, Parenting, and Children’s Safety. Soc Indic Res 83, 177–199 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-006-9063-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-006-9063-5

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