A cross‐ethnoracial comparison of objective and subjective neighborhood predictors of early adolescents' prosocial behavior

Abstract

Although the Family Stress Model (FSM) has been widely tested, expanded conceptualizations of stressors, intervening mechanisms, and developmental outcomes from this perspective is becoming increasingly common in order to better explain the adolescent adjustment. Additionally, though extant research analyzes the utility of the FSM in African American and European-American samples, little is known about the representativeness of the FSM in Latino/a samples, and cross-ethnoracial comparisons are scarce. The present study addresses these gaps by conducting cross-ethnic comparisons in a modified FSM between African American, European-American, and U.S. Latino/a ethnoracial adolescents. Findings revealed that perceived neighborhood safety was indirectly associated with youth prosocial behavior through parent mental health symptoms and family conflict for African Americans, U.S. Latino/as, and European-Americans. Objective neighborhood risk predicted parent mental health symptoms but was not indirectly associated with youths' prosocial behavior. Results generally suggest that the FSM may adequately represent family processes across ethnoracial groups. The usefulness and practical implications of the FSM are discussed.

Examination of promotive and protective effects on early adolescent prosocial behavior through a bioecological lens

“…Fewer studies have examined the association between positive neighborhood attributes and prosocial behavior, yet some recent research has shown that safer environments have been associated with greater prosocial behaviors in youth. Specifically, in a cross-sectional study with a diverse, nationally representative U.S. sample of youth ages 9-10 and their caregivers, Memmott-Elison et al (2021) found an indirect link between parent-perceived neighborhood safety and youth prosocial behavior via parental mental health and family conflict. This indirect association between neighborhood safety and prosocial behavior was similar across ethnic and racial groups and may reflect a degree of interplay between exosystem (i.e., neighborhood) and microsystem (i.e., household) factors.…”