Self-Regulation and Conduct Problems Among Low-Income African American Youth From Single-Mother Homes: The Roles of Perceived Neighborhood Context and Child Gender

Abstract

The present study examines perceived neighborhood context and gender as moderators of the relation between self-regulation and conduct problems among low-income African American youth (7 to 15 years old; 50% girls) from single-mother homes. Mother-child dyads (N = 277) provided ratings of self-regulation, neighborhood resources and risks, and aggression and other conduct problems. Analyses revealed a significant three-way interaction among self-regulation, neighborhood context, and gender. Neighborhoods lower in resources and higher in risks exacerbated the link between poor self-regulation and aggression and conduct problems for girls, but not for boys. Clinical implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Growing Up in Violent Communities: Do Family Conflict and Gender Moderate Impacts on Adolescents’ Psychosocial Development?

“…Gender Previous research suggests that the links between community violence and development may differ based on child gender; although less is known about this relationship for girls as they have often been excluded from study (Zalot et al 2007). Male children may be at higher risk of being exposed to community violence than females (Farrell and Bruce 1997;Moffitt et al 2001;Singer et al 1995) making them more vulnerable to the impacts of the community.…”

Hyperactivity, Impulsivity, Inattention (HIA) and Conduct Problems among African American Youth: The Roles of Neighborhood and Gender

“…In their work with African American and European American boys, Lynam et al (2000) found that the link between impulsivity and conduct problems was strongest among boys residing in neighborhoods characterized by the greatest risk (defined both by participant rating and census data). Zalot et al (2007) study of African American girls and boys also found that more disadvantaged neighborhoods (i.e., those communities characterized by greater risks and fewer resources) exacerbated the association between HIA and conduct problems, but only for girls. Taken together, the findings of the two studies are consistent with a bioecological model of human development (e.g., Bronfenbrenner and Ceci 1994;Bronfenbrenner and Morris 1998), which suggests that the degree to which heritability and individual differences in child development are manifested depends in part on the characteristics of the environmental context(s).…”

“…Indeed, findings suggest that youth in low SES communities (i.e., African American youth) fare worse on a range of outcomes, including conduct problems (e.g., Aneshensel and Sucoff 1996;Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn 2000). Although fewer studies have examined variability within and between the neighborhoods in which African American youth reside, findings to date reveal that variability within even the lowest SES communities is associated with youth adjustment (e.g., Forehand et al 2000;Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn 2000), and neighborhood context may moderate the impact of individual risk factors on the adjustment of African American youth (e.g., Brody et al 2003;Ge et al 2002;Zalot et al 2007).…”

“…Caution in such an interpretation is also warranted, however, given the methodological inconsistencies across the three prior studies. As noted, neither Beyers et al (2001) nor Lynam et al (2000) included girls in their sample, precluding further investigation of important gender differences that were noted by Zalot et al (2007). Furthermore, both Beyers et al (2001) and Zalot et al (2007) used only a subjective index of neighborhood context (e.g., maternal ratings of presence or absence of range of neighborhood resources, such as library, etc.…”

A culturally-sensitive model of the development of child anxiety.

“…First, the extant body of work on psychosocial outcomes in African American youth has primarily focused on disproportionately high rates of problem behavior and the factors that place African American children at risk for externalizing disorders (Barbarin, 1993). For example, extant literature has found that low socioeconomic status and single-parent households (Barbarin, 1993), community violence (Prelow, Danoff-Burg, Swenson, & Pulgiano, 2004), stressful life events (Attar, Guerra, & Tolan, 1994;Kliewer & Kung, 1998;Prelow et al, 2004), hopelessness (Bolland, 2003), difficulty self-regulating (Zalot, Jones, Forehand, & Brody, 2007), and perceived discrimination (Burchinal, Roberts, Zeisel, & Rowley , 2008;Prelow et al, 2004;Vega, Khoury, Zimmerman, Gil, & Warheit, 1995;Whitbeck, Hoyt, McMorris, Chen, & Stubben, 2001) are related to problem behaviors in African American youth. Given that the preponderance of studies neglect to report data on internalizing symptomatology or diagnoses in African American children (Barbarin, 1993;Li, Nussbaum, & Richards, 2007), the current understanding of the etiology of anxiety disorders remains particularly limited in this population.…”