Defining neighborhood boundaries in studies of spatial dependence in child behavior problems

International Journal of Health Geographics

James Murdoch²  Kurt Beron²  Tammy Leonard²  Margaret O’Brien Caughy¹ 

[1] University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, BL10.204, Dallas, TX, 75390-9655, USA;University of Texas at Dallas, Department of Economics, School of Economics, Political & Policy Sciences, 800 West Campbell Road, GR31, Richardson, TX, 75080-3021, USA

关键词: Peer relationships;    Child behavior problems;    Neighborhood;   

Others  :  810159
DOI  :  10.1186/1476-072X-12-24

 received in 2013-01-30, accepted in 2013-04-25,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

The purpose of this study was to extend the analysis of neighborhood effects on child behavioral outcomes in two ways: (1) by examining the geographic extent of the relationship between child behavior and neighborhood physical conditions independent of standard administrative boundaries such as census tracts or block groups and (2) by examining the relationship and geographic extent of geographic peers’ behavior and individual child behavior.

Methods

The study neighborhood was a low income, ethnic minority neighborhood of approximately 20,000 residents in a large city in the southwestern United States. Observational data were collected for 11,552 parcels and 1,778 face blocks in the neighborhood over a five week period. Data on child behavior problems were collected from the parents of 261 school-age children (81% African American, 14% Latino) living in the neighborhood. Spatial analysis methods were used to examine the spatial dependence of child behavior problems in relation to physical conditions in the neighborhood for areas surrounding the child’s home ranging from a radius of 50 meters to a radius of 1000 meters. Likewise, the spatial dependence of child behavior problems in relation to the behavior problems of neighborhood peers was examined for areas ranging from a radius 255 meters to a radius of 600 meters around the child’s home. Finally, we examined the joint influence of neighborhood physical conditions and geographic peers.

Results

Poor conditions of the physical environment of the neighborhood were related to more behavioral problems, and the geographic extent of the physical environment that mattered was an area with a radius between 400 and 800 meters surrounding the child’s home. In addition, the average level of behavior problems of neighborhood peers within 255 meters of the child’s home was also positively associated with child behavior problems. Furthermore, these effects were independent of one another.

Conclusions

These findings demonstrate that using flexible geographies in the study of neighborhood effects can provide important insights into spatial influences on health outcomes. With regards to child behavioral outcomes, specifically, these findings support the importance of addressing the physical and social environment when planning community-level interventions to reduce child behavior problems.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Caughy et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]U.S. Public Health Service: Report of the Surgeon General’s Conference on Children’s Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. In Book Report of the Surgeon General’s Conference on Children’s Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. Washington, D.C: Department of Health and Human Services; 2000.
• [2]Brody GH, Ge X, Kim SY, Murry VM, Simons RL, Gibbons FX, Gerrard M, Conger RD: Neighborhood disadvantage moderates associations of parenting and older sibling problem attitudes and behavior with conduct disorders in African American children. J Consult Clin Psychol 2003, 71:211-222.
• [3]Crick NR: The role of overt aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behavior in the prediction of children's future social adjustment. Child Dev 1996, 67:2317-2327.
• [4]Lipman EL, Bennett KJ, Racine YA, Mazumdar R, Offord DR: What does early antisocial behavior predict? A follow-up of 4- and 5-year olds from the Ontario Child Health Study. Canada Journal of Psychiatry 1998, 43:605-613.
• [5]Pettit GS, Bates JE, Dodge KA: Supportive parenting, ecological context, and children's adjustment: a seven-year longitudinal study. Child Dev 1997, 68:908-923.
• [6]World Health Organization: Investing in mental health. In Book Investing in mental health. Geneva: Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence; 2003.
• [7]August GJ, Leee SS, Bloomquist ML, Realmuto GM, Hektner JM: Maintenance effects of an evidence-based prevention innovation for aggressive children living in culturally diverse urban neighborhoods: The Early Risers effectiveness study. J Emot Behav Disord 2004, 12:194-205.
• [8]Brotman LM, Calzada E, Huang K-Y, Kingston S, Dawson-McClure S, Kamboukos D, Rosenfelt A, Schwab A, Petkova E: Promoting effective parenting practices and preventing child behavior problems in school among ethnically diverse families from underserved, urban communities. Child Dev 2011, 82:258-276.
• [9]Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group: The effects of the Fast Track preventive intervention on the development of conduct disorder across childhood. Child Dev 2011, 82:331-345.
• [10]Lewis TJ, Sugai G, Colvin G: Reducing problem behavior through a school-wide system of effective behavioral support: Investigation of a school-wide social skills training program and contextual interventions. School Psychol Rev 1998, 27:446-459.
• [11]Perry DF, Dunne MC, McFadden L, Campbell D: Reducing the risk for preschool expulsion: mental health consultation for young children with challenging behaviors. J Child Fam Stud 2007, 17:44-54.
• [12]Raver CC, Jones SM, Li-Grining CP, Metzger M, Champion KM, Sardin L: Improving preschool classroom processes: preliminary findings from a randomized trial implemented in Head Start settings. Early Child Res Q 2008, 23:10-26.
• [13]Werthamer-Larsson L, Kellam SG, Wheeler L: Effect of first-grade classroom environment on shy behavior, aggressive behavior, and concentration problems. Am J Community Psychol 1991, 19:585-602.
• [14]Dodge KA: Context matters in child and family policy. Child Dev 2011, 82:433-442.
• [15]Caughy MO, O'Campo PJ, Nettles SM: The effect of residential neighborhood on child behavior problems in first grade. Am J Community Psychol 2008, 42:39-50.
• [16]Dorsey S, Forehand R: The relation of social capital to child psychosocial adjustment difficulties: the role of positive parenting and neighborhood dangerousness. J Psychopathol Behav 2003, 25:11-23.
• [17]Eamon MK, Mulder C: Predicting antisocial behavior among Latino young adolescents: an ecological systems analysis. Am J Orthopsychiatry 2005, 75:117-127.
• [18]Ingoldsby EM, Shaw DS, Winslow E, Schonberg M, Gilliom M, Criss MM: Neighborhood disadvantage, parent–child conflict, neighborhood peer relationships, and early antisocial behavior problem trajectories. J Abnorm Child Psychol 2006, 34:303-319.
• [19]Kohen DE, Brooks-Gunn J, Leventhal T, Hertzmann C: Neighborhood income and physical and social disorder in Canada: Associations with young children's competencies. Child Dev 2002, 73:1844-1860.
• [20]Szapocznik J, Lombard J, Martinez F, Mason CA, Gorman-Smith D, Plater-Zyberk E, Brown SC, Spokane A: The impact of the built environment on children's conduct grades: the role of diversity of use in a Hispanic neighborhood. Am J Community Psychol 2006, 38:299-310.
• [21]Xue Y, Leventhal T, Brooks-Gunn J, Earls F: Neighborhood of residence and mental health problems of 5- to 11-year-olds. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005, 62:554-563.
• [22]Leventhal T, Brooks-Gunn J: Moving to Opportunity: an experimental study of neighborhood effects on mental health. Am J Public Health 2003, 93:1576-1582.
• [23]Caughy MO, Nettles SM, O’Campo PJ, Lohrfink KF: Neighborhood matters: racial socialization and the development of young African American children. Child Dev 2006, 77:1220-1236.
• [24]Cleveland HH: Disadvantaged neighborhoods and adolescent aggression: behavioral genetic evidence of contextual effects. J Res Adolescence 2003, 13:211-238.
• [25]Lima J, Caughy MO, Nettles SM, O'Campo PJ: Effects of cumulative risk and effects on behavioral adjustment in first grade: moderation by neighborhood context. Soc Sci Med 2010, 71:1447-1454.
• [26]Meyers SA, Miller C: Direct, mediated, moderated, and cumulative relations between neighborhood characteristics and adolescent outcomes. Adolescence 2004, 39:121-144.
• [27]Roche KM, Ensminger ME, Cherlin A: Variations in parenting and adolescent outcomes among African American and Latino families living in low-income, urban areas. Journal of Family Issues 2007, 28:882-909.
• [28]Silk JS, Sessa FM, Morris AS, Steinberg L, Avenevoli S: Neighborhood cohesion as a buffer against hostile maternal parenting. J Fam Psychol 2004, 18:135-146.
• [29]Simons RL, Lin K-H, Gordon LC, Brody GH, Murry V, Conger RD: Community differences in the association between parenting practices and child conduct problems. Journal of Marriage & the Family 2002, 64:331-345.
• [30]Clark R, Dogan RR, Akbar NJ: Youth and parental correlates of externalizing symptoms, adaptive functioning, and academic performance: an exploratory study in preadolescent blacks. J Black Psychology 2003, 29:210-229.
• [31]Lloyd JJ, Anthony JC: Hanging out with the wrong crowd: how much difference can parents make in an urban environment? J Urban Health 2003, 80:383-398.
• [32]Sameroff SJ, Peck SC, Eccles JS: Changing ecological determinants of conduct problems from early adolescence to early adulthood. Dev Psychopathol 2004, 16:873-896.
• [33]Schwartz D, Gorman AH: Community violence exposure and children's academic functioning. J Educ Psychol 2003, 95:163-173.
• [34]Brody GH, Ge X, Conger R, Gibbons FX, Murry VM, Gerrard M, Simons RL: The influence of neighborhood disadvantage, collective socialization, and parenting on African American children's affiliation with deviant peers. Child Dev 2001, 72:1231-1246.
• [35]Ge X, Brody GH, Conger RD, Simons RL, Murry VM: Contextual amplification of pubertal transition effects on deviant peer affiliation and externalizing behavior among African American children. Dev Psychol 2002, 38:42-54.
• [36]Lloyd JJ, Anthony JC: Hanging out with the wrong crowd: how much difference can parents make in an urban environment? Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine 2003, 80:383-399.
• [37]Simons RL, Johnson C, Beaman J, Conger RD, Whitbeck LB: Parents and peer group as mediators of the effect of community structure on adolescent problem behavior. Am J Community Psychol 1996, 24:145-171.
• [38]Crane J: The epidemic theory of ghettos and neighborhood effects on dropping out and teenage childbearing. Am J Sociol 1991, 96:1226-1259.
• [39]Tienda M: Poor people and poor places: Deciphering neighborhood effects on poverty outcomes. In Macro–micro linkages in sociology. Edited by Huber J. Newbury Park, CA: Sage; 1991:244-263.
• [40]Caughy MO, Brodsky AE, O'Campo P, Aronson RE: Perceptions of parenting: individual differences and the effect of community. Am J Community Psychol 2001, 29:679-699.
• [41]Manski CF: Identification of endogenous social effects: the reflection problem. Rev Econ Stud 1993, 60:531-542.
• [42]Guo JY, Bhat CR: Operationalizing the concept of neighborhood: application to residential location choice analysis. Journal of Transport Geography 2007, 15:31-45.
• [43]Chaix B, Merlo J, Subramanian SV, Lynch J, Chauvin : Comparison of a spatial perspective with the multilevel analytic approach in neighborhood studies: the case of mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use in Malmo, Sweden, 2001. Am J Epidemiol 2005, 162:171-182.
• [44]Ross NA, Tremblay S, Graham K: Neighborhood influences on health in Montreal, Canada. Soc Sci Med 2004, 59:1485-1494.
• [45]Hoehner CM, Brennan Ramirez LK, Elliott MB, Handy SL, Brownson RC: Perceived and objective environmental measures and physical activity among urban adults. Am J Prev Med 2005, 28:105-116.
• [46]Scott M, Evenson K, Cohen D, Cox C: Comparing perceived and objectively measured access to recreational facilities as predictors of physical activity in adolescent girls. J Urban Health 2007, 84:346-359.
• [47]Lee C, Moudon AV, Courbois J-YP: Built environment and behavior: spatial sampling using parcel data. Ann Epidemiol 2006, 16:387-394.
• [48]Moudon AV, Lee C, Cheadle AD, Garvin C, Johnson DJ, Schmid TL, Weathers RD, Lin L: Operational definitions of walkable neighborhood: theoretical and empirical insights. J Phys Act Health 2006, 3:S99-S117.
• [49]Jencks C, Mayer SE: The social consequences of growing up in a poor neighborhood. In Inner-city poverty in the United States. Edited by Lynn LEJr, McGeary MGH. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press; 1990:111-187.
• [50]Foster EM: Evidence-based treatment programs for conduct problems: Are they cost effective? In Clinical handbook of assessing and treating conduct problems in youth. Edited by Murrihy RC, Kidman AD, Ollendick TH. New York: Springer Science; 2010:489-515.
• [51]Mihalopoulos C, Sanders MR, Turner KM, Murphy-Brennan M, Carter R: Does the triple P-Positive Parenting Program provide value for money? Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2007, 41:239-246.
• [52]Reynolds AJ, Temple JA, White BAB, Ou S-R, Robertson DL: Age 26 cost–benefit analysis of the child–parent center early education program. Child Dev 2011, 82:379-404.
• [53]Zill N: The Behavior Problems Index. Descriptive Material. In Book The Behavior Problems Index. Descriptive Material. Washington, D.C: Child Trends; 1991.
• [54]Caughy MO, O'Campo PJ, Patterson J: A brief observational measure for urban neighborhoods. Health Place 2001, 7:225-236.
• [55]Ackerman BP, Brown E, Izard CE: Continuity and change in levels of externalizing behavior in school of children from economically disadvantaged families. Child Dev 2003, 74:694-709.
• [56]Mistry RS, Vandewater EA, Huston AC, McLoyd VC: Economic well-being and children's social adjustment: the role of family process in an ethnically diverse low-income sample. Child Dev 2002, 73:935-951.
• [57]NICHD ECCRN: Duration and developmental timing of poverty and children's cognitive and social development from birth through third grade. Child Dev 2005, 76:795-810.
• [58]Votruba-Drzal E: Economic disparities in middle childhood development: does income matter? Dev Psychol 2006, 42:1154-1167.
• [59]Bramoulle Y, Djebbari H, Fortin B: Identification of peer effects through social networks. J Econometrics 2009, 150:41-55.
• [60]Lee L-F: Identification and estimation of econometric models with group interactions, contextual factors and fixed effects. J Econometrics 2007, 140:333-374.
• [61]Anselin L: Spatial econometrics: Methods and models. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 1988.
• [62]Econometrics toolbox [http://www.spatial-econometrics.com/ webcite]
• [63]LeSage J, Pace RK: Introduction to spatial econometrics. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group; 2009.
• [64]Cohen J: Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York: Academic; 1977.
• [65]NICHD ECCRN: Does amount of time spent in child care predict socioemotional adjustment during the transition to kindergarten? Child Dev 2003, 74:976-1005.
• [66]Won Kim C, Phipps TT, Anselin L: Measuring the benefits of air quality improvement: a spatial hedonic approach. J Environ Econ Manag 2003, 45:24-39.
• [67]Beyers JM, Bates JE, Pettit GS, Dodge KA: Neighborhood structure, parenting processes, and the development of youths' externalizing behaviors: a multilevel analysis. Am J Community Psychol 2003, 31:35-53.
• [68]Calvó-Armengol A, Patacchini E, Zenou Y: Peer effects and social networks in education. Rev Econ Stud 2009, 76:1239-1267.
• [69]Gaviria A, Raphael S: School-based peer effects and juvenile behavior. Rev Econ Stat 2001, 83:257-268.
• [70]Xu L: Identifying peer effects in student academic achievement by spatial autoregressive models with group unobservables. J Labor Econ 2010, 28:825-860.
• [71]Drackley A, Newbold KB, Taylor C: Defining socially-based spatial boundaries in the region of Peel, Ontario, Canada. Int J Health Geogr 2011, 10:38. BioMed Central Full Text
• [72]Flowerdew R, Manley DJ, Sabel CE: Neighbourhood effects on health: does it matter where you draw the boundaries? Soc Sci Med 2008, 66:1241-1255.
• [73]Weiss L, Ompad D, Galea S, Vlahov D: Defining neighborhood boundaries for urban health research. Am J Prev Med 2007, 32:S154-S159.
• [74]Odgers CL, Caspi A, Bates CJ, Sampson RJ, Moffitt TE: Systematic social observation of children's neighborhoods using Google Street View: a reliable and cost-effective method. J Child Psychol Psyc 2012, 53:1009-1017.