Neighborhood influences on the development of self-regulation among children of color living in historically disinvested neighborhoods: Moderators and mediating mechanisms

Abstract

We present a conceptual model of the ways in which built and social environments shape the development of self-regulation in early childhood. Importantly, in centering children of color growing up in historically disinvested neighborhoods, we first describe how systemic structures of racism and social stratification have shaped neighborhood built and social environment features. We then present evidence linking these neighborhood features to children’s development of self-regulation. Furthermore, we take a multilevel approach to examining three potential pathways linking neighborhood contexts to self-regulation: school environment and resources, home environment and resources, and child health behaviors. Finally, we consider how racial-ethnic-cultural strengths and multilevel interventions have the potential to buffer children’s development of self-regulation in disinvested neighborhood contexts. Advancing multilevel approaches to understand the development of self-regulation among children of color living in historically disinvested neighborhoods is an important step in efforts to promote equity in health and education.

Nurturing resilience in American Indian/Alaska Native preschool children: the role of cultural socialization, executive function, and neighborhood risk

“…Thus, the present study examined whether parent/caregiver cultural socialization practices served as resilience factors (i.e., connectedness mechanisms) by promoting emerging EF skills for AI/AN children in the context of neighborhood risk. The first research question investigated the relation between neighborhood risk (e.g., parent/caregiver perceptions of safety, presence of alcohol/drugs, sense of social support) and EF, hypothesizing that higher risk would predict lower EF ( Caughy and O’Campo, 2006 ; Roy et al, 2014 ; Ursache et al, 2022 ). The second research question examined whether cultural socialization (e.g., participation in cultural activities, exposure to tribal language) promoted EF in the presence of neighborhood risk.…”

Annual Research Review: The power of predictability – patterns of signals in early life shape neurodevelopment and mental health trajectories

“…For example, the long history of discriminatory policies in the United States such as residential segregation and redlining laws have resulted in an overrepresentation of families of color in neighborhoods characterized by a number of risk factors in both the built and social environments (Mitchell & Franco, 2018;Schwartz, Onnen, Craigmile, & Roberts, 2021). Some of these neighborhood features specifically include elements of unpredictability such as housing instability, crime, increased police surveillance, immigration raids, and physical disorder (Ursache, Barajas-Gonzalez, & Dawson-McClure, 2022). It is critical moving forward that examinations of the developmental significance of unpredictability for child health and development consider exposures and pathways that may uniquely explain mental health disparities.…”

Using fixed-effects analyses to examine how neighborhood structural, process, and physical characteristics predict children’s cognitive skills in a national cohort of elementary school students.

“…Neighborhood effects on children’s development have long been of interest to researchers and policy makers seeking to understand different avenues for improving children’s well-being. Studies have linked characteristics of neighborhoods, especially neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES; e.g., unemployment and poverty rates), to the development of vital cognitive skills like children’s academic skills and executive functions (Anderson et al, 2014; Dupéré et al, 2010; Sastry, 2012; Ursache et al, 2022). This work has driven the implementation of several residential mobility interventions that move families from low-SES neighborhoods to more advantaged ones.…”