Impact of neighborhood disadvantage on overt behavior problems during early childhood

Researchers have yet to examine the impact of neighborhood disadvantage on early child behavior problems (BPs) longitudinally. We examined the impact of neighborhood disadvantage on overt BPs in a low-income, urban sample of 281 African American and European American boys followed longitudinally from toddlerhood to school entry. Measures included census data and maternal report of BPs, socioculturel factors, parental criminality, and maternal depressive symptomatology. After controlling for age 2 overt BPs, family selection variables, and residential instability, neighborhood effects on boys' behavior emerged, but only at age 6 and only at the extreme of neighborhood disadvantage (i.e., underclass). Findings suggest boys in underclass neighborhoods are at risk for overt BPs as they make the transition to elementary school.