In the Mix, Yet on the Margins: The Place of Families in Urban Neighborhood and Child Development Research

Abstract

ࡗ In the Mix, Yet on the Margins: The Place of Families in Urban Neighborhood and Child Development ResearchIn the 1990s, the most popular theoretical and empirical research issue concerning the local ecologies of families focused on the impact of family structures (e.g., household composition) and processes (e.g., child management strategies) on the relationship between urban neighborhoods and child and adolescent development. In this article, we synthesize and critically examine the decade's prevailing literature on the topic, organizing this review into three areas: (a) the research designs of quantitative and ethnographic studies of urban neighborhoods, families, and child outcomes; (b) the conceptual approaches used in these studies; and (c) the role of structural and behavioral features of family and parenting as factors that influence the relationship between urban neighborhoods and child development in ethnically and racially diverse populations. Results suggest that although family has been center stage in the neighborhood effects research question of

Neighborhoods, Family, and Substance Use: Comparisons of the Relations across Racial and Ethnic Groups

“…To begin with, only a few existing studies (e.g., Klebanov, Brooks-Gunn, and Duncan 1994;Brody et al 2001;O'Neil et al 2001) explicitly examine how neighborhoods affect parenting behaviors. Findings are also not conclusive about the specific associations between family variables and neighborhood variables (Burton and Jarrett 2000). Thus, more sustained efforts are warranted in this area of research.…”

“…Recent research questions the complex links between neighborhood risk and the role of family, particularly whether families can protect against contextual adversity (Furstenberg et al 1998;Burton and Jarrett 2000;Duncan and Raudenbush 2001;Beyers et al 2003). However, works rarely address the complexity of how neighborhood risk factors and family factors interrelate to influence youth behaviors.…”

“…However, works rarely address the complexity of how neighborhood risk factors and family factors interrelate to influence youth behaviors. Linda Burton and Robin Jarrett (2000) point out that family factors are not adequately accounted for in existing research on the relations between neighborhood factors and youth behaviors.…”

“…However, it is not a simple task to disentangle family's mediating role from its moderating role (Duncan and Raudenbush 2001). In addition, challenges emerge in precisely identifying the ways that families mediate the relationship between neighborhood factors and youth behaviors (Burton and Jarrett 2000). To begin with, only a few existing studies (e.g., Klebanov, Brooks-Gunn, and Duncan 1994;Brody et al 2001;O'Neil et al 2001) explicitly examine how neighborhoods affect parenting behaviors.…”

Neighborhood-health links: Differences between rural-to-urban migrants and natives in Shanghai

“…As indicated in the literature, neighborhood population composition in terms of race, ethnicity, and nativity or citizenship could affect an individual's health and perception of amenities available in the local community (e.g., Bécares, Nazroo, and Stafford 2009;Burton and Jarrett 2000;Poortinga, Dunstan, and Fone 2007). A dichotomous variable of whether migrant workers outnumbered native Shanghai-born residents in the neighborhood at the time of survey (yes vs. no) was thus added to the analysis.…”