Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


osu1069324610.pdf (1.19 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

The effect of neighborhood poverty and residential mobility on child well-being

Hango, Darcy William
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1069324610

Abstract Details

2003, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Sociology.
The goal of this work is to examine how child and adolescent well-being are influenced by family mobility and neighborhood quality. Both of these factors have been shown to influence the overall well-being of youth, by altering successful behavioral development. Moving and high poverty neighborhoods often increase behavior problems. The connection between these two processes has not been looked at previously, except among families participating in very selective residential mobility programs (e.g. Gautreaux and Moving to Opportunity). I address several questions. Does child behavior change as a result of family mobility? Does neighborhood context pre- and post-move have any bearing on the change? Finally, does mobility have different effects on behavior depending upon when they are measured? That is, do the effects surface immediately after the move, or is there a lagged effect, with change not being seen for several years? I overcome limitations from past research by combining a nationally representative sample of children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth’s linked mother-child files with the 1990 US census. Together these data allow for the measurement of child behavior and neighborhood poverty both before and after the move. I find that moving, when measured without taking neighborhood context into account, has no effect on the negative behavior of children and adolescents. However, once neighborhood context is considered, the effect of mobility on child behavior changes. Several important effects are noted, which vary by the class context of the origin and destination neighborhoods. First, moving from a poor to a nonpoor neighborhood reduces negative behavior. Second, this positive impact diminishes four years after the move. Third, moving to a higher poverty neighborhood, or to another poor neighborhood, increases a child’s negative behavior. Fourth, these harmful effects do not manifest until four years post-move. Finally, moving between two nonpoor neighborhoods has no effect on child behavior. These results suggest that it is important to include contextual factors of the origin and destination neighborhood when studying the effect of residential mobility on children. Also, it is beneficial to measure behavior change immediately, as well as several years after a family moves.
Townsand Price-Spratlen (Advisor)
190 p.
child well-being; residential mobility; neighborhood; behavior problems; family

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hango, D. W. (2003). The effect of neighborhood poverty and residential mobility on child well-being [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1069324610

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hango, Darcy. The effect of neighborhood poverty and residential mobility on child well-being. 2003. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1069324610.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hango, Darcy. "The effect of neighborhood poverty and residential mobility on child well-being." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1069324610

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1069324610
2,270
© 2003, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.