Neighborhood Violent Crime and Academic Growth in Chicago: Lasting Effects of Early Exposure

Abstract

A large body of research documents the importance of early experiences for later academic, social, and economic success. Exposure to an unsafe neighborhood is no exception. Living in a violent neighborhood can influence the stress levels, protective behaviors, and community interactions of both parents and children in ways that generate cumulative educational disadvantage. Using nine years (2002–2011) of detailed crime data from the Chicago Police Department and longitudinal administrative data from the Chicago Public Schools, I estimate the influence of early exposure to neighborhood violence on growth in standardized test scores over time. Student fixed-effects are included to remove any bias due to constant differences between students. The results show that children from more violent neighborhoods fall farther behind their peers from safer neighborhoods as they progress through school. These effects are comparable in size to the independent association with socioeconomic disadvantage and an annual measure of more recent neighborhood violence exposure.

Overcoming exposure to complex stressors: An examination of protective coping mechanisms for low-income urban African American youth

“…Based on these mixed findings, and the lack of gender differences in the current study, it remains unclear how gender may relate to exposure to stressors in this population. Lastly, as is consistent with prior research, violent stressors and academic stressors were direct predictors of worse outcomes across the board, including more school problems (Delaney-Black et al, 2002;Janosz et al, 2008;Mathews, Dempsey, & Overstreet, 2009;Burdick-Will, 2016;Elsaesser, Gorman-Smith, Henry, & Schoeney, 2017) as well as post-traumatic stress and internalizing problems (Fowler, Tompsett, Braciszewski, Jacques-Tiura, & Bates, 2009;Margolin & Gordis, 2000).…”

“…Conversely, community violence exposure is also associated with the development of post-traumatic stress and internalizing symptoms (Fowler, Tompsett, Braciszewski, Jacques-Tiura, & Bates, 2009;Margolin & Gordis, 2000). Beyond physical and mental health, community violence has been independently associated with problems with school engagement and academic achievement, including lower reading ability, grades, standardized test scores, and attendance (Delaney-Black et al, 2002;Janosz et al, 2008;Mathews, Dempsey, & Overstreet, 2009;Burdick-Will, 2016;Elsaesser, Gorman-Smith, Henry, & Schoeney, 2017).…”

Disentangling the Effects of Race and Place in Economic Transactions: Findings from an Online Field Experiment

“…). Community‐level factors, such as collective efficacy (Sampson, Morenoff, and Gannon‐Rowley ), crime (Burdick‐Will ; Harding ; Sharkey ; Sharkey et al. ), and social networks (Smith ), have also been shown to shape individual‐level outcomes.…”

Poverty and Academic Achievement Across the Urban to Rural Landscape: Associations with Community Resources and Stressors

“…Urban areas have heightened prevalence of dangerous and dilapidated neighborhoods with relatively high rates of concentrated disadvantage (Amato and Zuo 1992). Heightened exposure to crime and violence has also been documented in large, inner-city communities (Amato and Zuo 1992; Burdick-Will 2016). These environmental risks may produce maladaptive physiological and psychological responses in urban children living in poverty (Evans and Kutcher 2011; Persico, Figlio, and Roth 2016; Shonkoff 2010).…”