Poster #179 - The associations between neighborhood disadvantage, safety concerns, and social support among African American and Latino youth.

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Research demonstrates that children living in disadvantaged communities are more likely to experience neighborhood, family, and school related stressors that have negative implications for children’s adjustment (Attar, Guerra, & Tolan 1994). Living in neighborhoods characterized by disadvantage shapes residents’ neighborhood perceptions (Witherspoon & Ennett 2011). Adolescents’ perspectives of their neighborhoods are equally as important as objective neighborhood characteristics (Witherspoon & Ennett, 2011). Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to experience chronic neighborhood stressors such as neighborhood disadvantage and fear of violence than their White counterparts (Steptoe et al., 2001; Williams, 2000). Despite neighborhood disadvantage, social ties exist and help protect people from the negative outcomes related to disadvantage (Abada, Hou, & Ram, 2007). Social support from multiple providers remains a vital resource for African American and Latino families, given their strong sense of familism (Degarmo, Jr, & Degarmo, 2016; Pallock & Lamborn, 2006, and a buffer of contextual risk (Martin, Gardner, & Brooks-Gunn, 2013).
The present study examines the association among neighborhood disadvantage, safety concerns, and social support for urban African American and Latino adolescents. Data come from the Early Adolescent Cohort study (EAC). EAC is a mixed-method, multi-informant (i.e., parents and adolescents) study examining how multiple contexts impact adolescent development from middle to high school. The study sample includes 192 African American and Latino 6th graders (52% female) who provided their addresses and reported on safety concerns, family, peer and neighborhood support. Neighborhood disadvantage is a standardized composite of 4 census tract variables (i.e., education [no high school diploma], unemployment, poverty, female-headed households) commonly used (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Safety concerns were assessed with the 6-item (e.g. getting beaten up) Fear of Calamity Scale (Stevenson (1995). The Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI; Furman & Buhrmester, 1985) measured adolescents’ perceptions of support from their parents, the sibling they feel closest to, and their closest friend.
Tables 1 provides descriptives and correlations by racial-ethnic group. For African American youth, safety concerns were negatively associated with mother support (r = -.21, p < 0.05), and neighborhood disadvantage was positively associated with sibling support (r = .26, p < 0.05). For Puerto Rican youth, safety concerns were positively associated with neighborhood disadvantage (r = .30, p < 0.05). For Dominican youth safety concerns were negatively associated with father support (r = -.26, p < 0.05).
Table 2 provides hierarchical regressions which revealed that peer support was a significant predictor of safety concerns for Puerto Rican youth and father support was a significant predictor of safety concerns for Dominican youth. There were no significant associations for African American youth. These preliminary results suggest that the associations between neighborhood disadvantage, safety concerns, and social support varies across racial and within ethnic groups, signaling a need for more within group investigations that explore heterogeneity in experiences. Additional analyses will explore the buffering effect of social support on the link between neighborhood disadvantage and safety concerns.

Authors

• Daphney Chancy, The Pennsyvlania State University
  Presenting Author

• Dawn Paula Witherspoon, The Pennsylvania State University
  Non-Presenting Author