Project: How Parenting Modifies Neighborhood Risks Related to Low-Income Children’s Health

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Maternal and Child Health
Status: In process
IPS Staff: Tama Leventhal

Purpose and Approach
This study’s objective is to explore the extent to which positive parenting behaviors may help buffer children from the consequences of detrimental neighborhood structural and social conditions (beyond poverty) and foster optimal health outcomes among children from low-income, urban families. Understanding the protective role of parenting within high-risk settings is important to the design of effective interventions aimed at improving health among this vulnerable population. We investigate intersections between parenting and neighborhoods as related to child health during two critical developmental transitions: early childhood into school entry and early to late adolescence. To explore this topic, we are using three waves of data, collected over six years, from the Three-City Study (of Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio). This study provides a random sample of 2,400 low-income children from low-income neighborhoods; half of them aged 0-4 and half aged 10-14.

Results and Publications
Forthcoming.