Poster #171 - Impact of Residential Density and Parental Anxiety on Behavior Problems in African American Preschool Children

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Background: Residential density, or residential crowding, refers to the intensity that land is populated, which is more likely to occur in low-income, ethnic minority families (Evans & Saegert, 2000). While higher residential density has been found to be associated with children’s poor physical health and schooling outcomes (Leventhal & Newman, 2010), research regarding the association between residential density and preschool children’s behavior problems is limited. Crowding has been shown to be associated with greater psychological symptoms in older children (Evans, Saegert, & Harris, 2001), most likely due to their independent interactions with their community. However, residential density may indirectly influence child psychopathology through the effects on parenting because preschool children have less interaction with their communities. Residents in highly populated neighborhoods have reported excessive, unwanted social interactions, insufficient privacy, and may be more socially withdrawn (Evans, Palsane, Lepore, & Martin, 1989), which may develop/maintain parental anxiety.

Purpose: The goal of the current study was to examine the role of residential density in the relationship between parental anxiety and externalizing behavior problems in African American preschool children.

Method/Procedure: The sample consisted of 52 low-income, African American parent-child dyads recruited from Head Start preschools in Detroit. Children were 3-5 years old (mean = 3.75, SD = .56) and 54% were female. The mean parent age was 30.7 years (SD = 7.9). Parents completed a self-report survey of anxiety (PROMIS-8), residential density (NEWS-Y; Rosenberg et al., 2009), and child externalizing behavior (CBCL).

Results: A correlation analysis shows that parental anxiety was positively associated with child externalizing problem behavior (r = .38, p < .01) and residential density (r = .32, p < .05). Greater anxiety levels in parents were associated with greater externalizing behavior problems in children and greater residential density. Residential density was also positively associated with child externalizing behavior problems (r = .45, p < .01), meaning greater residential crowding was related to greater problem behavior in preschool children. Multiple regression was used to examine whether residential density moderated the relationship between parental anxiety and child behavior problems. Results revealed that parental anxiety significantly predicted child externalizing behavior problems (b = 0.40, p =.01), as well as the parental anxiety and residential density interaction term (b = 0.01, p < .05), with overall significance, R^2 = .33, F(3, 44) = 7.25, p < .001. The direct effect of density was no longer significant. A simple slopes analysis shows that when residences were more densely populated (+1 SD), parental anxiety was predictive of child behavior problems, b = 0.71, t(44) = 2.93, p < .01 (Figure). However, within less dense residential areas (-1 SD), parental anxiety was not significantly predictive of child behavior problems. Residential density appears to significantly strengthen the relationship between parental anxiety and child externalizing behavior problems.

Conclusions: The current study highlights that neighborhood density may play an important role in the development/maintenance of behavior problems in African American preschool children. When neighborhoods are more densely populated, parental anxiety may be an important predictor of child externalizing behavior.

Authors

• Alyssa Buthman, Eastern Michigan University
  Presenting Author

• Heather C. Janisse, Eastern Michigan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jessica Riggs, Eastern Michigan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Cassandra Esposito, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
  Non-Presenting Author