Young Children of Immigrants, Behavioral Problems, and Social Cohesion in Under-Resourced Neighborhoods

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Abstract

Children of immigrants are disproportionately likely to live in under-resourced neighborhoods characterized by resource deficiency and social isolation (Suarez-Orozco et al., 2008). Although there is substantial research supporting the relation between living in a disadvantaged neighborhood and behavioral problems in children (e.g., internalizing and externalizing behaviors; Lara-Cinisomo et al., 2013; Russell et al., 2016), there is limited research on the specific neighborhood structural conditions that contribute to this relation, especially among immigrant children. Using a subsample of 3-5-year-old children of immigrants (N = 1134, 51.7% male) from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH; Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, 2018), the current study examines neighborhood social cohesion as a mediator of the relation between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and behavior problems in young children of immigrants. Results of a mediation analysis conducted using the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2017) indicated that neighborhood social cohesion mediated the relation between neighborhood SES and behavioral problems in this sample of young children of immigrants. Specifically, living in low-income neighborhood appeared to reduce endorsement of social cohesion within the neighborhood, which then had a direct effect on behavioral problems. Findings suggest that neighborhood SES may indirectly influence young children through a direct effect on the social cohesion experienced by their parents. Implications for prevention at the neighborhood level are provided in light of the current sociopolitical climate and COVID-19 pandemic.

Authors

• Jennifer Medina Vaughn, Pepperdine University
  Presenting Author

• Lisseth Rojas-Flores, Fuller Theological Seminary
  Non-Presenting Author