The research that has been conducted suggests that, in the context of poverty, parents may be less effective in controlling their children, and may be less affectionate and accepting, resulting in youngsters being at greater risk for adjustment problems. The negative effects, on school-age children s verbal IQ, of living in ethnically diverse neighborhoods have been found to be mediated by the family home learning environment. Living in a neighborhood with high socioeconomic status neighbors has been associated with a better home learning environment, which in turn has been associated with fewer internalizing problems for school-age children. Their parents were also given questionnaires but, because just four fathers completed them, only the responses of the mothers were included in the analyses. An outcome of living in a dangerous environment may be less autonomy, with parents offering fewer freedoms in the face of a hostile environment.
Adolescents living in poor conditions are more likely to develop negative views of themselves.
When important resources are available at acceptable levels, adolescents may function at a higher level, and they may face less stress when they and their families do not have to strive to obtain basic services. This finding held true across socioeconomic lines, indicating the importance of considering not only whether families are financially able to afford services, but also how accessible services are. Mothers report of the availability of resources was positively associated with their acceptance of their adolescents. The more mothers reported physical deterioration in their community, the higher their firm control of their adolescents. More research is needed on the manner in which parenting behaviors mediate the relations between the neighborhood factors assessed and the areas of adolescent adjustment measured.