Poster #174 - Neighborhood Influences on Behavior Problems Among Low-Income, Mexican-American Children

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Traditional models of the development of early-onset behavior problems have identified maternal factors that influence child maladjustment (e.g., maternal depression), but often stop at the child- and family-level context. Ecological systems theory suggests that greater societal and cultural systems also have the potential to influence a child’s immediate context and subsequent development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Disadvantaged neighborhoods are commonly identified as an impactful context increasing a child’s risk for maladaptive outcomes. The current study evaluated the relation between two neighborhood characteristics (concentrated disadvantage [CD] and percentage residents identifying as Hispanic/Latino), maternal depressive symptoms, and child behavior problems at 4.5 years in a sample of low-income, Mexican-American children, an understudied sample in this literature.

We hypothesized that higher maternal depressive symptoms and higher CD would each predict more child behavior problems. A greater percentage of a neighborhood identifying as Hispanic/Latino was expected to moderate the association between disadvantage and behavior problems, such that high levels of CD would be more strongly associated with behavior problems among children who live in neighborhoods with a lower percentage of Hispanic/Latino residents. Neighborhood structural characteristics were gathered from the U.S. Census and American Community Survey using prenatal addresses (U.S. Census, 2011). Mothers reported their depressive symptoms (EPDS; Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987) from 6 weeks to 6 months and their children’s behavior problems (CBCL; Achenbach, 2001) at 3 and 4.5 years.

Multiple linear regressions were assessed to predict child behavior problems at 4.5 years, adjusting for 3-year-old problems. In the base model without including the percentage residents identifying as Hispanic/Latino, both maternal depressive symptoms and CD were significant predictors of child behavior problems (see Table 1), such that lower CD and higher maternal depressive symptoms were each associated with more behavior problems. When the percentage of residents identifying as Hispanic/Latino was included in the model, maternal depressive symptoms remained a significant predictor, but CD was no longer statistically significant, p = 0.64 (Table 2). The percentage of residents identifying as Hispanic/Latino was a near-significant predictor of child behavior problems, p = 0.057, such that children in neighborhoods with a higher percentage Hispanic/Latino exhibited fewer behavior problems at 4.5 years.

Our results suggest that neighborhoods can exert significant influence on children’s mental health as early as 4.5 years of age. Contrary to hypotheses, lower neighborhood CD was associated with more behavior problems during childhood, when adjusting for the impact of maternal depressive symptoms. However, CD no longer predicted child behavior problems after adjusting for the percentage of Hispanic/Latino residents in the neighborhood. Perhaps, in this sample of low-income, Mexican-American children, the neighborhood cultural context may be protective against poor mental health outcomes despite concentrated neighborhood disadvantage. Future research should aim to understand the underlying mechanisms driving the potential relationship between a neighborhood’s racial/ethnic composition and mental health outcomes during childhood.

Authors

• Sarah Curci, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author

• Linda Luecken, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author