NCJ Number
204275
Journal
Youth & Society Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2004 Pages: 267-292
Date Published
March 2004
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This study examined the association between various community-level variables and child conduct problems.
Abstract
Past research has indicated that African-American youth are more likely to experience conduct problems than their White counterparts. Most research in this area has focused on social psychological causes, but recent research has begun to examine community-level effects as a possible factor in child conduct problems. Several studies have focused on African-American youth located in disadvantaged minority neighborhoods in large metropolitan areas. This study extends previous research by focusing on African-American children living in towns and small cities and by including community constructs that have not previously been considered in the explanation of child conduct problems. Data were drawn from the first wave of the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS); participants were 867 African-American children aged 10 to 12 years living in towns or small cities Georgia or Iowa. The sample included 400 boys and 467 girls, of which 462 were Iowa residents, and 405 were Georgia residents. Community characteristics included in the analysis were: level of collective socialization, prevalence of antisocial behavior, and degree of economic disadvantage. The analysis controlled for the individual-level variables of ineffective parenting, low school commitment, and affiliation with deviant peers. Results of hierarchical linear modeling techniques revealed a strong inverse relationship between level of collective socialization and child conduct problems. This relationship remained after controlling for the various individual-level variables relating to family, peers, and school. Notably, two of the community-level variables were found to be not significantly related to child conduct problems: prevalence of crime and concentrated disadvantage. The findings indicate that child rearing should be a community engagement because it appears that communities significantly reduce their risk for child conduct problems when the entire community is involved in collective child rearing and socialization. Future research should focus on whether the impact of collective socialization on behavior wanes as children become late adolescents. Tables, references