The protective effects of neighborhood collective efficacy on British children growing up in deprivation: a developmental analysis.

Full Abstract

This article reports on the influence of neighborhood-level deprivation and collective efficacy on children's antisocial behavior between the ages of 5 and 10 years. Latent growth curve modeling was applied to characterize the developmental course of antisocial behavior among children in the E-Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, an epidemiological cohort of 2,232 children. Children in deprived versus affluent neighborhoods had higher levels of antisocial behavior at school entry (24.1 vs. 20.5, p < .001) and a slower rate of decline from involvement in antisocial behavior between the ages of 5 and 10 (-0.54 vs. -0.78, p < .01). Neighborhood collective efficacy was negatively associated with levels of antisocial behavior at school entry (r = -.10, p < .01) but only in deprived neighborhoods; this relationship held after controlling for neighborhood problems and family-level factors. Collective efficacy did not predict the rate of change in antisocial behavior between the ages of 5 and 10. Findings suggest that neighborhood collective efficacy may have a protective effect on children living in deprived contexts.

Author information

Author/s: Odgers, Candice L (CL); Moffitt, Terrie E (TE); Tach, Laura M (LM); Sampson, Alan (A); Taylor, Robert J (RJ); Matthews, Charlotte L (CL); Caspi, Avshalom (A);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697-7085, USA. codgers(-atsign-)uci.edu

Grants: G0100527 (Agency:Medical Research Council) ; G9806489 (Agency:Medical Research Council)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Twin Study

Journal: Developmental psychology (Dev Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 45 (issue 4) : pp 942-57

Dates: Created 2009/07/09; Completed 2009/09/14;

PMID: 19586172, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/14/2009, IMS Date: )

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