Effects of the Your Family, Your Neighborhood Intervention on Neighborhood Social Processes

Abstract

The objective of this study was to ascertain whether participation in the Your Family, Your Neighborhood (YFYN) intervention, an intervention for families living in low-income neighborhoods, leads to improved perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion and informal neighborhood social control. Fifty-two families in three low-income, urban neighborhoods participated in the manualized YFYN intervention. In this quasi-experimental study treatment families (n = 37) in two low-income neighborhoods received YFYN and control families (n = 15) from one separate low-income neighborhood did not. Families receiving YFYN attended 10 two-hour skills-based curriculum sessions during which they gathered for a community dinner and participated in parent- and child-specific skills-based groups. Treatment families reported increases in both neighborhood social cohesion and informal neighborhood social control after receiving YFYN. However, families receiving YFYN did not experience statistically significant improvements in perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion or informal neighborhood social control compared with nontreatment families. In conclusion, the delivery of YFYN in low-income neighborhoods may improve perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion. Further testing, with randomization and a larger sample, should be conducted to provide a more robust understanding of the impact of YFYN.

Social connectedness among parents raising children in low‐income communities: An integrative review

“…All included studies, except one, were rated as Level III evidence, indicating nonexperimental study designs. The quasi‐experimental study by Brisson et al ( 2019 ) was rated as Level II. Seven studies were rated as high‐quality, Level A, for demonstrating consistent, generalizable results with adequate study designs and sample sizes.…”

“…Five quantitative studies reported various SC outcomes related to parents’ connections to their community, that is, parents’ reported perceptions of or interactions with their communities or neighborhoods, and related resources (Acri et al, 2019 ; Adaji et al, 2019 ; Brisson, 2012 ; Brisson et al, 2019 ; Yuma‐Guerrero et al, 2017 ). Yuma‐Guerrero et al ( 2017 ) found SC‐mediated relationships between mothers’ perceptions of neighborhood safety and their engagement in physical activity, suggesting that greater SC may be helpful in improving perceptions of neighborhood safety and parents’ engagement in related activities within the neighborhood.…”

“…Five quantitative studies reported various SC outcomes related to parents' connections to their community, that is, parents' reported perceptions of or interactions with their communities or neighborhoods, and related resources (Acri et al, 2019;Adaji et al, 2019;Brisson, 2012;Brisson et al, 2019;Yuma-Guerrero et al, 2017). Yuma-Guerrero et al…”

“…caregivers within the program (framed as "group cohesion";Acri et al, 2019) Brisson et al (2019). reported low-income families participating in the intervention, "Your Family, Your Neighborhood," designed to improve neighborhood social cohesion, showed improvements in SC (framed as "neighborhood social cohesion").…”

Incorporating Photovoice Into a Community-Based Intervention With Latinx Families

“…YFYN is a 12-week community-based dual-generation intervention developed and launched in 2012 in Denver, Colorado andPhoenix, Arizona in 2019 (Lechuga-Peña &Brisson, 2018a). YFYN aims to build socially cohesive communities among family cohort participants to address adverse conditions in neighborhoods with a high concentration of poverty by fostering a network of trusting and cohesive relationships among participants (Brisson et al, 2019). This photovoice project was piloted with a Latinx community in English and Spanish simultaneously to accommodate the participant's preferred language.…”