Neighborhood Danger, Parental Monitoring, Harsh Parenting, and Child Aggression in Nine Countries (original) (raw)

The relation of perceived neighborhood danger to childhood aggression: a test of mediating mechanisms

American journal of community psychology, 2000

In the current study, two mediational mechanisms, parenting practices and children's beliefs about aggression, were hypothesized to account for the relationship between perceived neighborhood danger and childhood aggression. Using structural equation modeling, data were analyzed from an inner-city school-based sample of 732 predominantly African American 5th graders. Results suggested that perceived neighborhood danger was associated with strong positive beliefs about aggression, which in turn was associated high levels of aggression. The hypothesized mediating role of parenting practices (restrictive discipline, parental monitoring, and parental involvement) on the relation between perceived neighborhood danger and child aggression was not supported. However, the current findings suggest that children's positive beliefs about aggression mediated the relationship between restrictive discipline and aggression. Directions for future research are discussed.

Perceived neighborhood violence, parenting styles, and developmental outcomes among Spanish adolescents

This article analyzed perceptions of neighborhood violence of Spanish adolescents (N = 1,015) from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful families, and its association with three sets of developmental outcomes (psychological, behavioral, and academic). Tests of main and interactive effects were conducted to answer research questions regarding the potential moderating role of perceived neighborhood violence on the relationship between parenting styles and developmental outcomes. Results yielded only main effects of parenting styles and perceived neighborhood violence on developmental outcomes, as well as an interaction between gender and perceived neighborhood violence. Parenting styles and perceived neighborhood violence made an independent contribution to adolescent outcomes. Adolescents from authoritative and indulgent families were those who performed better in all developmental domains examined, and adolescents who perceived their neighborhoods as violent performed worse in all outcomes. Results suggested, however, that irrespective of parental behavior, perceived neighborhood violence was a developmental risk in adolescence.

Goldner, J.S., Richards, M.H., Quimby, D., Zakaryan, A., Miller, S. A. Dickson, D. & Chilson, J. (in press). Relations of parenting to adolescent externalizing and internalizing distress moderated by perception of neighborhood danger. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.