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World's dangerous neighborhoods produce aggressive children

Date:
January 22, 2014
Source:
Duke University
Summary:
Across the globe, children growing up in dangerous neighborhoods exhibit more aggressive behavior, says a new study that is the first to examine the topic across a wide range of countries. The effect may be indirect: dangerous neighborhoods may influence parents' behavior, and harsh parenting practices may in turn promote aggressive behavior in children.
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Children around the world who grow up in dangerous neighborhoods exhibit more aggressive behavior, says a new Duke University-led study that is the first to examine the topic across a wide range of countries.

Many U.S. studies have described a link between dangerous neighborhoods and children's aggressive behavior. Authors of the new study wanted to determine whether the pattern held true in other cultures. To find out, researchers interviewed parents and children from 1,293 families in nine countries: China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the United States.

The study appears online today in the journal Societies.

The researchers asked families a series of questions about dangers in their neighborhoods. Based on the answers, the researchers scored the neighborhoods according to their degree of danger.

To measure children's aggressive behavior, researchers asked parents and children to complete a widely used child-behavior checklist that captures behaviors such as screaming and threatening people. The researchers sought answers from mothers, fathers and children for the surveys, in order to obtain a fuller portrait.

In neighborhoods that parents described as highly dangerous, children exhibited higher levels of aggressive behavior. This link held true across all nine countries studied, based on parents' responses, said lead author Ann T. Skinner, a researcher with Duke's Center for Child and Family Policy.

"This is an incredibly diverse set of countries from around the world, representing countries from the developing and the developed world and including individualistic and collectivist societies," Skinner said. "In all the countries we studied, we see that living in a dangerous neighborhood may affect kids negatively."

The study further suggests that perilous neighborhoods may affect children indirectly, through their parents. In all nine countries, when children reported living in more dangerous neighborhoods, harsh parenting practices were more common, as was child aggression. However, adults' and children's perceptions differed on that point. More research is needed to determine whether or not dangerous neighborhoods promote harsh parenting practices, Skinner said.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Duke University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Ann Skinner, Dario Bacchini, Jennifer Lansford, Jennifer Godwin, Emma Sorbring, Sombat Tapanya, Liliana Tirado, Arnaldo Zelli, Liane Alampay, Suha Al-Hassan, Anna Bombi, Marc Bornstein, Lei Chang, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Laura Giunta, Kenneth Dodge, Patrick Malone, Maria Miranda, Paul Oburu, Concetta Pastorelli. Neighborhood Danger, Parental Monitoring, Harsh Parenting, and Child Aggression in Nine Countries. Societies, 2014; 4 (1): 45 DOI: 10.3390/soc4010045

Cite This Page:

Duke University. "World's dangerous neighborhoods produce aggressive children." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 January 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140122170620.htm>.
Duke University. (2014, January 22). World's dangerous neighborhoods produce aggressive children. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 12, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140122170620.htm
Duke University. "World's dangerous neighborhoods produce aggressive children." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140122170620.htm (accessed December 12, 2024).

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