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3-092 - Novel Approaches for Measuring Neighborhoods and their Influence on Child Outcomes

Sat, March 23, 9:45 to 11:15am, Hilton Baltimore, Floor: Level 2, Key 4

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Bioecological theories have long emphasized the role of neighborhoods as a central “microsystem” of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1997). Indeed, decades of empirical research have shown robust links between neighborhood poverty rates and child and adolescent outcomes (e.g., Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, Klebanov, & Sealand, 1993; Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Less is known, however, about the broader social, organizational, and structural features of neighborhoods that might underlie these associations.
The objective of the proposed panel is to bring together a diverse set of researchers from multiple disciplines (psychology, public policy, and sociology) to explore novel, cost-effective, and scalable approaches to measuring neighborhood processes and their potential impacts on children’s developmental outcomes. Paper 1 introduces a new version of the Child Opportunity Index, a comprehensive measure and online mapping tool for understanding developmentally-relevant neighborhood inequities over time. Paper 2 uses a virtual systematic social observation protocol in Google Street view to quantify how order, safety, and resource availability in school communities predict young children’s development. Paper 3 uses ecological momentary assessment and administrative data to examine how neighborhood income inequality predicts young adolescents’ mental health and perceived social status. Finally, paper 4 explores how community resources (e.g., non-profits, museums, libraries, labor market characteristics) as measured by multiple administrative sources may predict Mexican-origin children’s STEM pursuits. Together, these papers aim to deepen theoretical understanding of neighborhood influences, inform place-based intervention efforts, and build the field’s methodological toolkit for measuring complex social and structural processes at scale.

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