Can Family and Neighborhood Cohesiveness Buffer the Association Between Family Economic Hardship and Children’s Peer Victimization?

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to identify factors that buffer the link between family economic hardship and peer victimization. We examined whether family and neighborhood cohesiveness moderated the association between family economic hardship and children’s peer victimization. Data were derived from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, and the total sample was 14,155 caregivers who responded to questions about children, aged 6 through 11 years old. Analyses included bivariate correlations and hierarchical multivariate regressions. Family economic hardship was positively associated with victimization while family cohesion and neighborhood cohesion were negatively correlated with victimization. The interaction between family economic hardship and neighborhood cohesion was significant. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Reciprocal prospective effects among parental psychological distress, family cohesion, and child socioemotional behavior within families.

“…2 YU or adolescence, identifying cohesion as a key protective factor in promoting socioemotional health of young people (Fosco & Lydon-Staley, 2020;Hong et al, 2020;Lucia & Breslau, 2006).…”

“…Cohesion can foster a sense of support and connectedness in children, providing them with the necessary emotional and practical support that contribute to their positive socioemotional development (Fosco & Lydon-Staley, 2020; Hong et al, 2020; Olson, 2000; Renzaho et al, 2013). A few studies found cohesion to be inversely associated with internalizing/externalizing problems or peer victimization in children in middle childhood or adolescence, identifying cohesion as a key protective factor in promoting socioemotional health of young people (Fosco & Lydon-Staley, 2020; Hong et al, 2020; Lucia & Breslau, 2006).…”

“…Cohesion can foster a sense of support and connectedness in children, providing them with the necessary emotional and practical support that contribute to their positive socioemotional development (Fosco & Lydon-Staley, 2020; Hong et al, 2020; Olson, 2000; Renzaho et al, 2013). A few studies found cohesion to be inversely associated with internalizing/externalizing problems or peer victimization in children in middle childhood or adolescence, identifying cohesion as a key protective factor in promoting socioemotional health of young people (Fosco & Lydon-Staley, 2020; Hong et al, 2020; Lucia & Breslau, 2006). Guided by the theoretical perspective where collective qualities of the entire family are predictive of child adjustment above and beyond unique qualities of dyadic interaction (Olson, 2000), the present study seeks to extend the limited research on effects of cohesion on child socioemotional development (i.e., internalizing/externalizing behavior and peer social competence) by employing longitudinal data of preschoolers.…”

Neighborhood, neighborliness, and family and child well-being.

“…Neighborhood social processes have been shown to mediate the risk of adolescent victimization, including in economically distressed neighborhoods (Hong, Song, Peguero, Wu, & Schmaeman, 2020;Lenzi et al, 2012). Studies have found that informal social control, the willingness of neighborhood residents to intervene to manage children's behavior and foster norms for caring for public spaces, is associated with lower neighborhood crime rates (Gorman- Smith & Schoeny, 2010).…”

Reciprocal Prospective Effects among Parental Psychological Distress, Family Cohesion, and Child Socioemotional Behavior in Three Dyads within Families

“…Cohesion can facilitate a sense of support and connectedness in children, which can contribute to their positive socioemotional development [5,13,14]. A few studies found cohesion to be inversely associated with internalizing problems or peer victimization in children in middle childhood or adolescence [13][14][15].…”