Families, Urban Neighborhood Youth Centers, and Peers as Contexts for Development

Abstract: Three social contexts-family, neighborhood youth centers, and peer relationships-were examined in relation to several measures of adjustment among 1,406 mostly minority, inner-city adolescents. Family and center involvement were directly related to 3 of the 4 adjustment measures (i.e., achievement orientation, emotion regulation, attitudes toward school). Peer connections interacted with family and center involvement to also predict these variables. Substance use, the fourth adjustment measure, was related only to family involvement. Significant 3-way interactions suggested that within urban settings, favorable attitudes toward school may best be achieved when family, neighborhood youth center, and peer involvement are all strong. The combined effects of these 3 contexts appear to be greater among younger adolescents. Implications for promoting urban youth development programs are discussed. Key Words: adolescent adjustment, inner-city, urban neighborhoods, youth centers, youth development. Formulations of youth development have progressed from initial examinations of single sources of influence on youth, such as family, school, or peers, to considerations of multiple sources of environmental influence. These sources of influence have been referred to as external developmental assets (Benson, 2002), features of positive developmental settings (Eccles & Gootman, 2002), multilevel ecology of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 2005), and supports and opportunities (Connell, Gambone, & Smith, 2000). Although differences exist in how these terms are defined, they all refer to environmental influences that can promote the development of life skills, relational competencies, and resilience so that young people can succeed in domains such as employment, education, and civic life. Environmental influences include family, peers, schools, neighborhoods, communities, culture, and more specific settings such as after-school and other communitybased programs. Generally, it is recognized that the greater the number of external assets and supports available to youth, the more likely they will develop prosocial behaviors (e.g., academic achievement, leadership, resistance skills, tolerance for diversity), avoid risk behaviors (e.g., substance abuse, antisocial behavior, violence, school failure; Benson; Eccles & Gootman; Fredricks & Eccles, 2006), and contribute positively to self, family, and community (Mannes, Roehlkepartain, & Benson, 2005). One important implication of this broader systems ecological view is that no particular relationship or environmental context is solely responsible for developmental outcomes (Bronfenbrenner, 2005; Granger, 2002). What becomes important is the configuration of these various sources of influence over time. Within the present study, three social contexts thought to be important to youth adjustment were examined. Specifically, family, peer, and neighborhood supports were examined as moderators of youth adjustment. The youth participating in this study were all from urban environments and attended neighborhood youth centers. The urban context is characterized by multiple stressors (e.g., poverty, violence, crime), and the youth residing within these settings typically have limited resources available to them to help counter the pressures associated with these stressors (Annunziata, Hogue, Faw, & Liddle, 2006; Tolan, GormanSmith, & Henry, 2003). Although studies have examined the combined effects of parental support and monitoring, peer relationships, and general neighborhood conditions on youth adjustment (Cantillon, 2006; Chung & Steinberg, 2006), we are not aware of any studies to date that have examined how involvement with neighborhood youth centers complements the roles that family and peer relationships play in the lives of urban youth. Family Context Research consistently has identified parental management skills and family relationship factors as two broad characteristics of family process related to adolescent adjustment. …