Citation

Xu Y, Bright CL, Huang H, Ahn H, Shaw TV. Child Abuse Negl. 2020; 104: e104483.

Affiliation

University of Maryland School of Social Work, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104483

PMID

32278928

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Children in kinship care may be placed in similar neighborhoods as their birth families, which are predominantly characterized as distressed neighborhoods with high poverty and crime rates, poor-quality housing conditions, and few social resources. Disordered neighborhoods are negatively correlated to social support, but this dynamic may vary by race or ethnicity. However, children's previously established attachment and social bonding may offset the negative effects of distressed neighborhoods on child behavioral health.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relation between neighborhood disorder and children's internalizing and externalizing problems among children in kinship care and tested caregivers' social support as a potential mediator. Moreover, this study examined if race/ethnicity moderated the pathway from neighborhood disorder to social support, and from social support to children's internalizing and externalizing problems. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: This study used NSCAW II wave 3 data for a sample of children in kinship care.

METHODS: Univariate, bivariate, and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using STATA 15.

RESULTS: Neighborhood disorder was indirectly associated with children's internalizing and externalizing problems through a mediator of social support. No racial/ethnic differences were identified.

CONCLUSIONS: Implications for improving social support for kinship caregivers to ameliorate the effects of neighborhood disorder on children's behavioral health are discussed. Implementing effective neighborhood-level interventions could promote positive outcomes for children in kinship care.

Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

Children’s behavioral problems; Kinship care; Neighborhood disorder; Social support