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Assessing low-income African-American pre-schoolers’ behaviour problems in relationship to community violence, inter-partner conflict, parenting, informal social support and social skillscfs_742 310..324

Linda M. Oravecz*, Philip J. Osteen†, Tanya L. Sharpe† and Suzanne M. Randolph‡ *Towson University, Department of Family Studies and Community Development, Towson, †University of Maryland,

School of Social Work, Baltimore, and ‡The MayaTech Corporation, Silver Spring, MD, USA

A B S T R AC T

This study examined the relations among community violence expo- sure, inter-partner conflict and informal social support and the behav- iour problems of pre-schoolers, and explored how mothers’ parenting skills and children’s social skills may mediate the child outcomes associated with such exposure. Participants were 185 African- American mothers and female caregivers of Head Start children who completed study measures in a structured interview. Path analyses revealed that greater inter-partner conflict was associated with more internalizing and externalizing child behaviour problems. Positive parenting was associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviours. Higher levels of child social skills were associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. Child social skills fully mediated the relationship between community vio- lence and externalizing behaviours as well as between informal support and externalizing behaviours. Social skills partially mediated the relationships between positive parenting and externalizing behav- iours. No mediating effect was found on the relationships between inter-partner conflict and child behaviour problems. Implications of the findings for intervention and future research are discussed.

Correspondence: Linda M. Oravecz, Department of Family Studies and Community Development, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252, USA E-mail: [email protected]

Keywords: African-American, behaviour problems, community violence

Accepted for publication: October 2010

I N T R O D U C T I O N

In the USA, nearly one in three African-American children live in poverty (Annie E. Casey Foundation 2008), with many living in urban neighbourhoods characterized by deteriorating housing, crime, drug activity and community violence (e.g. Sampson et al. 1997; DeNavas-Walt et al. 2004; Elliott et al. 2006). Additionally, adult inter-partner conflict has been found to be more prevalent among families coping

with poverty and its related stressors than among more affluent families (Browne & Bassuk 1997; Scott et al. 2002). While data relative to childhood exposure to violence worldwide are scarce, it is estimated that 4400 people die daily from inter-personal, collective or self-directed violence (Krug et al. 2002). Previous research examining the impact of exposure to com- munity violence and inter-partner conflict on child development has found a number of socio-emotional and adjustment problems in both African-American and other children (e.g. Harden & Koblinsky 1999; Farver et al. 2005).While the majority of children who reside in stressful environments exhibit socially com- petent behaviour, some children are at risk for nega- tive outcomes (Murry et al. 2001; Lynch 2006).

Authors Note: This study was funded by the U.S. Depart- ment of Education, OERI, National Institute on Early Child- hood Development (Grant No. R307F60099).

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00742.x

Existing literature reveals few studies that identify family- and community-level factors that facilitate the social competence of low-income, African-American pre-schoolers living in high-crime neighbourhoods (e.g. Murry et al. 2001). Similarly, there are few studies examining the mechanisms through which children’s exposure to community violence and inter- partner conflict might be associated with pre- schoolers’ behaviour problems (Farver et al. 2005). More information is needed on how family function- ing and community factors relate to children’s social competence. Therefore, this study explored the role of the selected family factors of inter-partner conflict and positive parenting, the community factors of com- munity violence and informal social support and the individual factor of child social skills on the behaviour problems of African-American pre-schoolers in low- income, urban neighbourhoods.

An ecological/risk and resilience framework pro- vided the conceptual framework for this study. Accord- ing to this model, children’s development is affected by the interactive influences of individual, family, commu- nity and larger societal level systems (Bronfenbrenner 1986). Ecological models posit that there are risks and protective factors within each of these four subsystems that may affect young children’s growth and develop- ment; when these factors are stressful, children are at physical, cognitive and socio-emotional risk; when factors are supportive, they may facilitate positive child outcomes (Harden & Koblinsky 1999; Luthar & Cic- chetti 2000). Resilience models attempt to identify protective factors that have the potential to shield children from stressful conditions, reduce the odds of negative effects or decrease the relationship between specific risks and child outcomes (Murry et al. 2001). Protective factors have a positive influence under adverse conditions and may not influence development in low-risk situations (Luthar & Cicchetti 2000).

Cultural ecological models further stress the need to consider child development and socialization pat- terns within the context of the values, attitudes and practices of specific cultural groups (e.g. Ogbu 1981; Hill 1993). This approach recognizes that African- American families often function within larger kinship networks, which include family members and non- related ‘fictive kin’ (Billingsley 1992). Involvement of supportive individuals from one’s family and commu- nity may facilitate children’s resilience in high-risk environments (Hill 1993).

Researchers and practitioners have sought to iden- tify individual-, family- and community-level factors that may influence children’s well-being within the

context of deleterious living conditions (Masten 2001). Although many factors may affect the social competence behaviour problems of poor, urban African-American pre-schoolers, this study focused on two potential risk factors and four potential pro- tective factors that may have an impact on young children’s behaviour. Specifically, we examined one family-level risk factor, inter-partner conflict and one community-level risk factor, exposure to community violence. Our study further explored three potential protective factors: the family-level variable of positive parenting, the community-level variable of informal social support and the individual-level variable of chil- dren’s social skills. Four of these variables (inter- partner conflict, parenting, informal social support and children’s social skills) were selected because of their potential for educational intervention. The fol- lowing is a brief review of target variables and their hypothesized relationships to child outcomes.

Risk factors

Exposure to community violence, a community-level risk factor, was defined as the experience or witnessing of violent events, instigated by known or unknown per- petrators, within the proximal environment of one’s home, neighbourhood or school (Shahinfar et al. 2000). Research suggests that both direct victimiza- tion and indirect exposure, such as witnessing violent acts, can have harmful effects on young children’s development (e.g. Harden & Koblinsky 1999). In one study, inner-city Head Start children who witnessed or heard about violent neighbourhood events exhib- ited more emotional distress and aggression than peers with less violence exposure (Farver et al. 2005). Other research has linked both direct and indirect violence exposure to both externalizing and internal- izing child behaviour problems (e.g. Linares et al. 2001), as well as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (e.g. Foy & Goguen 1998).

Community violence is believed to exert some of its influence on child behaviour through its effect on the family (Lynch 2006). Witnessing or experiencing community violence may cause parents to feel dis- tressed and overwhelmed, reducing their ability to provide children with a sense of safety and security. Previous studies (e.g. Linares et al. 2001) found that maternal or family distress mediates the link between neighbourhood violence exposure and child behaviour problems. This research illustrates the importance of measuring community violence exposure within the family system; such exposure not only affects children,

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

but also family members and their relationships with children (Lynch 2006).

A family-level potential risk factor, inter-partner con- flict, was defined as aggressive behaviours involving the child’s mother/female caregiver and her male partner; such behaviours range from verbal and emo- tional abuse to physical abuse (Straus 1979). Expo- sure to inter-partner conflict has been associated with many symptoms of psychological distress among children, including anxiety, depression and post- traumatic stress disorder (e.g. Attala & Summers 1999; Harden et al. 2000). The literature on pre- schoolers’ experiences with inter-partner conflict lags significantly behind that focusing on elementary age children (Harden & Koblinsky 1999). However, in a Boston sample of low-income mothers of primarily African descent, Linares et al. (2001) found that greater inter-partner aggression was related to higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems among the mothers’ pre-school children. Another study of African-American pre-schoolers in Washing- ton, DC, also found a strong positive association between inter-partner conflict and children’s external- izing problems (Harden et al. 2000).

Protective factors

In addition to examining risk factors, ecological models attempt to identify protective factors that may shield children from stressful conditions, reduce the odds of negative effects or decrease the relationship between specific risks and child outcomes. Positive parenting is one family-level factor that may contribute to more optimal outcomes for children in stressful environments (McGroder 2000). Three parenting constructs have been linked to social competence: parental support, structure and control (Slater & Power 1987). Parental support, or the caregiver’s ability to make the child feel accepted and approved, involves nurturance, warmth and affection. Structure includes both organization and consistency in the child’s environment, as well as parental involvement and modelling of socially mature behaviour. Parental control refers to the amount of authority the caregiver exerts over the child through methods such as disci- pline. Previous research links parental support and structure to children’s competence, self-reliance and compliance (Jackson et al. 2000). Flexible methods of parental control have also been positively related to social competence, while rigid, coercive strategies have been negatively linked to children’s adjustment (Hagekull et al. 2001).

Previous research has explored the relationship between African-American mothers’ parenting prac- tices and their young children’s behaviour problems. In one study of low-income black pre-schoolers in Detroit, Barnett et al. (1998) found that mothers who scored higher on measures of involved, supportive parenting had pre-schoolers with fewer behaviour problems. A similar study of pre-schoolers from African-American, single-parent families in urban Georgia linked high levels of parental nurturance with greater social maturity (McGroder 2000). Recent research involving African-American children from pre-school through adolescence suggests that nur- turant, involved parenting combined with firm control is predictive of higher social competence (e.g. Klein & Forehand 2000). Greater use of control among low- income black parents, as compared with their middle- income white peers, has been attributed to parents’ need to protect children from neighbourhood dangers and negative peer influences within an inner city envi- ronment (Mason et al. 1996).

Informal social support is a community-level factor with the potential to enhance pre-schoolers’ social competence in stressful urban neighbourhoods. In this study, informal social support included the instru- mental and emotional help that mothers received in rearing their child from members of their informal support networks, including family members, friends, church members and co-workers (Dunst et al. 1984). Research shows that extended family and friends often participate in the care and support of African- American children, especially when families lack financial resources (e.g. Hill 1993; Demo & Cox 2000). Such informal support may increase the amount and quality of time parents spend with chil- dren and offer more opportunities for parental involvement in children’s education. Informal net- works may also reduce maternal stress, provide chil- dren with guidance and emotional support and connect families with resources that mitigate exposure to taxing neighbourhood conditions (Ceballo & McLoyd 2002).

Another mechanism that may influence the link between exposure to community violence and inter- partner conflict and children’s behaviour problems is the individual-level factor child social skills. Although several studies provide compelling evidence for child behaviour problems following exposure to community violence (Pynoos et al. 1987; Martinez & Richters 1993; Kliewer et al. 1998), it is unclear whether child social skills act as a mediator of pre-school behav- ioural problems in the wake of community violence,

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

inter-partner conflict and compromised social support. What is known is that a high level of inter- personal and social skills contributes to early success- ful school performance (McClelland et al. 2000). Moreover, deficits in social skills have also been found to coincide with the development and continuance of destructive behavioural patterns. A lack of social skills can lead to behavioural difficulties in school, delin- quency, inattentiveness, peer rejection, emotional difficulties, bullying, difficulty in making friends, frequent special education referrals, aggressiveness, problems in inter-personal relationships, poor self- concept, academic failures, concentration difficulties, isolation from peers and depression (Fuchs et al. 1990; McColloch & Gilbert 1991; Bellis 2002; Walker & Severson 2002). Thus, examining child social skills is a critical component to the assessment of pre-school behaviour problems in as much as they are critical to further developing knowledge relevant to those con- structs that impact pre-school behaviour. Similarly, previous research suggests that a way to manage child behaviour is through the teaching of social skills, the fundamental foundation for getting along well with others (Bellis 2002). When children enter the school system (despite other environmental stressors), they are expected to have acquired certain knowledge, skills and experience that will enable them to navigate their way through the academic and social task the school environment requires to succeed. Thus, it is imperative that social skills be taught to students at an early age for the purpose of preventing and decreasing the aforementioned behaviours. In this study, child social skills included self-control, cooperation, posi- tive assertion and responsibility.

Our study explored relationships among commu- nity violence exposure, inter-partner conflict, positive parenting, informal social support, child social skills and African-American pre-schoolers’ behaviour prob- lems. A major purpose of this study was to examine whether community violence, inter-partner conflict and informal social support were associated with child outcomes, and also whether positive parenting and children’s social skills mediated the effects of commu- nity violence exposure, inter-partner conflict and informal social support on children’s behaviour prob- lems. Based on prior research, we hypothesized that community violence and inter-partner violence would be associated with more child behaviour problems and that informal social support would be associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviours among pre-schoolers. We also hypothesized that more positive parenting and higher levels of children’s social

skills would mediate the relationships, with more posi- tive parenting and social skills being associated with fewer behaviour problems.

M E T H O D

Participants

The sample consisted of 184 African-American women who were mothers or caregivers (17% were grandmothers or other relatives) of a pre-school child enrolled in a Head Start programme. All reported being married or involved in a relationship with a male partner during the past year, including 38% who had a male partner in residence and 62% who had a male partner who was not a permanent resident in their home. Participants resided in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, which included an adjoining Mary- land county. All families reported incomes below the official poverty line. Pre-school children in the study were between the ages of 42 and 67 months, with a mean age of 54 months (4 1/2 years). Approximately 54% of the children were girls and 46% were boys.

All participants resided in ‘high violence’ neigh- bourhoods, identified through crime data from Dis- trict of Columbia and Maryland police departments, including the Violent Crime Index; moreover, partici- pating families resided in the city’s most violent wards. The mean violent crime rate per 100 000 inhabitants for the District of Columbia in the year data were collected was 1628 compared with the national mean of 525 for the 50 states and the District (Federal Bureau of Investigation 2007).

Measures

Family and child exposure to community violence

A 17-item, study-specific measure was developed to assess whether the mother or other family members had witnessed and/or experienced different types of community violence within the last year. Mothers were instructed to report only on events that occurred in the community and to exclude violent incidents involving partners or family members. Eight items were selected from existing community violence mea- sures (e.g. Richters & Martinez 1993), including physical assault, robbery with physical assault, stab- bing, non-fatal shooting, fatal shooting, rape, gang- related violence and other violent crime (with a request to specify the type). Mothers provided two responses for each of the eight items: first, whether

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

they or family members had witnessed each event, and second, whether they or family members had person- ally experienced each violent crime. A 17th item asked whether the pre-school child had witnessed any of the eight violent alternatives. Pilot testing revealed that no pre-school children had personally experienced these crimes and the advisory board counselled against asking whether children had been directly victimized. Mothers answered each item with a yes or no, and a total score (0–17) was computed for each family. Cronbach’s alpha for the measure was 0.71.

Inter-partner conflict

The 18-item Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus 1979) measures the mother’s handling of inter- personal conflict with her male partner in the areas of reasoning, verbal aggression and physical violence. Participants reported on the frequency of each behav- iour (e.g. insulted or swore at you, slapped you) during the last year on a seven-point scale that included: (0) never; (1) once; (2) twice; (3) 3–5 times; (4) 6–10 times; (5) 11–20 times; and (6) more than 20 times. This CTS scoring protocol involved summing the 15 items on the verbal aggression and physical violence subscales to measure total inter-partner con- flict in the mother’s relationship during the last year. Possible scores ranged from 0 to 84, with higher scores indicating higher conflict. The CTS has been used in more than 400 studies, including several that support construct validity for African-American couples (Straus 1990). Overstreet & Braun (2000) found the CTS to be reliable with a sample of low-income African-American mothers. The alpha in this study was 0.78.

Positive parenting

The 26-item Parenting Dimensions Inventory (PDI; Slater & Power 1987) assesses parental use of nur- turance, consistency, responsiveness and control. Participants responded to statements, such as ‘I encourage my child to talk about his or her troubles’ and ‘Once I decide how to deal with (child’s) misbe- haviour, I follow through on it’. Participants indicated the extent to which each item was similar to their own behaviour on a scale ranging from (1) not at all like me to (6) highly like me. Several studies have supported the reliability and validity of the PDI with samples of low-income African-American mothers (e.g. Kelly et al. 1992; Bluestone & Tamis-LeMonda 1999); it had an alpha of 0.75 in this study.

Informal social support

The Family Support Scale (FSS; Dunst et al. 1984) measures a parent’s social support in rearing her child. The first 13 items comprise the ‘informal support scale’, including familial (e.g. parents, partner, own children) and extra-familial (e.g. friends, co-workers, church members) sources of support. Par- ticipants rated the amount of help received from each source in raising their child over the last 3–6 months on a scale ranging from 0 (not at all helpful) to 4 (extremely helpful). Dunst et al. (1984) report strong psychometrics for the FSS, and the scale has been found reliable with samples of low-income African- American mothers of pre-schoolers (e.g. Letiecq et al. 1996). Cronbach’s alpha for the informal support subscale in this study was 0.81.

Child social skills

The 49-item Social Skills Rating System (SSRS; Gresham & Elliott 1990) includes four subscales that assess children’s self-control, cooperation, assertion and responsibility. Self-control measures a child’s ability to respond appropriately in conflict situations such as controlling temper when being teased. Coop- eration addresses behaviours such as sharing and obeying rules. Assertion assesses a child’s capacity to ask others for help/information and the ability to make friends easily. Finally, responsibility focuses on a child’s ability to communicate appropriate informa- tion to adults and demonstrate respect for others’ property or work. Mothers rated the frequency of child behaviours on a three-point scale including (0) never, (1) sometimes and (2) very often. A total score was obtained, with higher scores reflecting more optimal social skills. Gresham & Elliott (1990) report adequate internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability and evidence of content and criterion- related ability for the SRSS standardization sample, which included 20% African-American children. The alpha in this study for total skills was 0.78, which was similar to that obtained for the standardization sample (Meier 2000).

Child behaviour problems

The Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 Parent Form (CBCL; Achenbach 1991) is a 113-item measure of children’s behaviour problems completed by a parent or familiar adult. The CBCL includes subscales of internalizing problems, such as acting sad, fearful or

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

withdrawn, and externalizing problems, such as fight- ing, teasing and anger. Mothers rate child behaviours on a three-point scale (0–2) with alternatives of not true, sometimes true and very/often true. Raw scores are converted to t-scores based on normative samples for boys and girls. The CBCL has been found to have strong psychometric properties in studies of children from diverse racial/ethnic and socio-economic back- grounds (Achenbach 1991), including African- American pre-schoolers (e.g. Gross et al. 2006). Alphas in this study were 0.89 for girls and 0.88 for boys on the internalizing subscale, and 0.87 for girls and 0.89 for boys on the externalizing subscale.

Procedure

Study data came from a US Department of Education funded project examining the development of African- American pre-school children in neighbourhoods characterized by high levels of crime and violence.The total study sample consisted of 223 African-American mothers; the 184 participants in this study were women who reported being married or involved in a relation- ship with a male partner during the past year. Univer- sity researchers partnered with Head Start agencies in Washington, DC and Maryland to conduct the study. Mothers were invited to volunteer through a letter sent to families in the target centres. If a mother had more than one Head Start child, one was randomly chosen for the study. Participants completed a 90- to 120- minute structured interview in their Head Start centre. This interview included demographic information and study measures in a fixed order recommended by the project advisory board (with more sensitive measures such as the CTS placed at the end). Participants were paid $25. Although informed of their right to withdraw without penalty, all 184 completed the interview. Trained female project staff (faculty, graduate students and a post-doctoral fellow) interviewed study mothers. Approximately half of the interviewers were African- American and half were white; there were no race of interviewer effects on any study measures.

Data analysis

Analysis of the ecological model presented in Fig. 1 was conducted using PASW Statistics 18 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) (PASW 2009) for descriptive sta- tistics and bivariate correlations, and Jöreskog & Sörbom (2007) Lisrel 8.80 for Windows (Scientific Software International, Lincolnwood, IL, USA) for structural equation modelling and path analysis. As an extension of multiple regression, path analysis was

chosen as the preferred statistical method in this study because of the ability to include multiple dependent variables in the model and to test for the effects of intervening variables on the relationships between independent and dependent variables. As illustrated in Fig. 1, Inter-partner Violence, Community Violence and Social Support were treated as independent vari- ables presumed to impact other variables in the model. Conversely, Internalizing and Externalizing Behav- iours were treated as dependent variables as they were presumed to be impacted by the other variables in the model. Parenting Skills and Children’s Social Skills were treated as intervening variables presumed to influence the relationships between independent and dependent variables.

Both direct and indirect effects were estimated in the model using maximum likelihood estimation. Direct effects are the significant bivariate relationships between any two variables. Indirect effects are the relationships between any two variables established through one or more intervening variables. The total effect of one variable on another is the sum of its direct and indirect effects. A special type of indirect effect is mediation. Mediation may exist if a previously signifi- cant direct effect changes based on an indirect effect. In complete mediation, a significant direct effect becomes non-significant, whereas in partial mediation a significant direct effect remains but changes in mag- nitude. An indirect effect may exist even if there is no significant bivariate relationship between independent and dependent variables, but this is different from a mediation effect.

Baron & Kenny (1986) established criteria for determining mediation based on the relationships between independent, mediator and dependent vari- ables. First, the independent and dependent variables should be related. Second, the independent and mediator variable should be related. Third, the media- tor and dependent variable should be related. Fourth, the relationship between independent and dependent variable should change with the introduction of the mediator variable. Although widely accepted as appro- priate conceptual criteria, Preacher & Hayes (2004) criticized the Baron and Kenny method as having low power and not providing a direct test of the indirect effect. Post hoc analysis of the mediating effects of Positive Parenting and Social Skills was conducted using bootstrapping methods outlined by Preacher & Hayes (2004) for formal tests of indirect effects. The Preacher and Hayes’ method tests the null hypothesis that the indirect effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable is zero. If the null hypothesis is

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

rejected, it can be assumed that there is an indirect effect. If there was a significant bivariate correlation between independent and dependent variables before the introduction of the intervening variable(s), then the indirect effect is in fact a mediating effect.

Assumptions of linearity and independence were met.The assumption of normality was not met for any of the model variables; however path analysis is con- sidered robust to minor violations of normality with larger samples (n > 100). Skewness and kurtosis were within acceptable ranges while bootstrapping analysis of mediation effects has no distributional assump- tions. Only four cases (2.2%) had missing data and were removed from the analyses using listwise dele- tion. Post hoc power analysis yielded observed power of 0.8 for detecting small effects (G*Power 3.0.10, Faul et al. 2007).

R E S U LT S

A mediation path analysis was conducted to test the theoretical model presented in Fig. 1. Specific analyses

include descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations and significance testing of direct and indirect effects in the model.

Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses

Descriptive statistics were computed for all variables in the mediation model. Risk factors in the model are participant families’ exposure to community violence and incidence of inter-partner conflict. Participants’ mean score on the community violence measure was 2.9 (with a range of 0–9), indicating that the average child’s family had witnessed or experienced approxi- mately three acts of violence in the immediate com- munity during the last year. Participants’ mean score on the inter-partner conflict scale was 11.8 (with a range of 0–51), signifying a moderate level of inter- partner conflict (Straus 1979).

Protective factors in the model are positive parent- ing, informal support and child social skills. Mothers’ average PDI score of 4.7 (on a scale with a midpoint of 3.5) indicated more optimal parenting practices.

Community Violence

(community level)

Interpartner Conflict

(family level)

Externalizing Behaviors

(individual level) Informal Support (community level)

Child Social Skills (individual level)

Internalizing Behaviors

(individual level)

Positive Parenting (family level)

Figure 1 Conceptual mediation model.

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

Mothers’ mean informal social support score was 20.0 (with a range of 1–48), with the average mother rating her support system as sometimes to generally helpful. Children’s total mean score on the SSRS was 51.5, placing them in the ‘average’ behaviour range for the national standardization sample (Gresham & Elliott 1990).

Child outcomes in the model are internalizing behaviours and externalizing behaviours. Examining CBCL scores, 11.8% of boys and 4% of girls had t-scores in the clinical range (T = 67+) for internalizing problems; 18.8% of boys and 20% of girls had t-scores in the clinical range (T = 67+) for externalizing prob- lems. Approximately 5% of standardization sample children were in the clinical range for both types of problems (Achenbach 1991). Thus, boys in this study exhibited more than twice the rate of internalizing problems and more than three times the rate of exter- nalizing problems as the standardization sample. Girls had internalizing problems similar to the standardiza- tion sample, but four times the rate of externalizing problems.

Bivariate analyses

Bivariate analyses were conducted for both Pearson bivariate correlations between all model variables and gender differences on social skills, internalizing behaviours and externalizing behaviours. The corre- lation matrix is provided in Table 1. Child outcomes were found to be significantly correlated with all other variables excluding informal support, with effect sizes ranging from small to moderate (Cohen 1988). Small but significant effects were found for community violence and internalizing (r = 0.18, P < 0.05) and externalizing (r = 0.23, P < 0.05) prob- lems, indicating that exposure to community vio-

lence is associated with negative child outcomes. Inter-partner conflict was also positively correlated with internalizing (r = 0.26, P < 0.05) and external- izing (r = 0.19, P < 0.05) problems, suggesting a link between inter-partner conflict and negative child outcomes. Moderate negative correlations were found between positive parenting and internalizing (r = -0.35, P < 0.05) and externalizing (r = -0.37, P < 0.05) behaviours, as well as small to moderate effects between social skills and internalizing (r = -0.16, P < 0.05) and externalizing (r = -0.29, P < 0.05) behaviours. Protective factors appear to be associated with reduced negative child outcomes. Informal social support was not correlated with child outcomes, but it was positively correlated with social skills (r = 0.23, P < 0.05), indicating a possible indi- rect effect on child outcomes.

Independent samples analyses were conducted to test for significant differences in internalizing and externalizing behaviours between boys and girls. No significant differences were found in mean scores on internalizing or externalizing behaviours. Tests of pro- portions were also conducted to determine if differ- ences in numbers of boys vs. girls in the clinical range for negative child outcomes were significant. Differ- ences in proportions were not statistically significant. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations are summarized in Table 1.

Path analysis and mediation effects

A mediation path analysis was conducted to test the direct effects of community violence, inter-partner conflict and informal support on internalizing and externalizing child behaviours as well as indirect effects mediated by positive parenting and child social skills. The final model is presented in Fig. 2. All

Table 1 Summary of descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations

Internalizing Externalizing Inter-partner

conflict Community

violence Parenting Social skills Informal

Internalizing 1 Externalizing 0.66** 1 Inter-partner conflict 0.26** 0.19* 1 Community violence 0.18* 0.23** 0.19** 1 Parenting -0.35** -0.37** -0.14 0.09 1 Social skills -0.16* -0.29** -0.07 -0.19** 0.19* 1 Informal support -0.02 -0.07 0.004 -0.02 -0.07 0.23** 1 Mean 52.72 55.96 11.76 2.07 4.68 51.50 20.60 Standard deviation (9.59) (10.59) (11.67) (2.22) (0.72) (11.51) (8.78)

*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

reported coefficients for direct effects were significant at P < 0.05. Non-significant paths were deleted from the model. Based on Muthén & Muthén’s (2007) recommendations, path coefficients are reported as standardized values followed by standard errors and t-scores for the unstandardized coefficients. Path coef- ficients can be interpreted as standardized beta values in multiple regression. Each outcome variable, inter- nalizing behaviours, externalizing behaviours and social skills, is associated with an error term, indicat- ing unexplained variance; error terms can be calcu- lated as 1 - R2. For internalizing behaviours, the error term is 0.85, indicating 15% explained variance. For externalizing behaviours, the error term is 0.82, indi- cating 18% explained variance. For social skills, the error term is 0.85, indicating 15% explained variance. Based on fit indices, data are a good fit to the model (c2(11) = 18.23, P = 0.08; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.06; Comparative Fit Index = 0.95;

Standardized Root Mean Square Residual = 0.06). Significant direct, mediation and indirect effects are summarized in Tables 2 and 3.

Ecological effects on externalizing behaviour

Significant effects on child externalizing behaviours were found at each level of the ecological model. Beginning at the individual level and working outward, a small, negative direct effect was detected between child social skills and externalizing behav- iours (b = -0.18, P < 0.01), with better social skills associated with fewer behaviour problems. Statistically significant direct and mediated effects were found for family-level factors. A small, positive direct effect was found for inter-partner conflict on externalizing behaviours (b = 0.13, P < 0.05), indicating that increased inter-partner conflict was associated with increased externalizing behaviours. No significant

.24 (.09, 3.45)***

-.21 (.36, -3.05)**

.50 (7.17, 6.91)*** -.32 (.90, -4.70)***

-.36 (.99, -5.30)***

-.18 (.05, -2.27)**

Externalizing Behaviors

Internalizing Behaviors

.85

.82

.85

.13 (.06, 1.98)*

.19 (1.10, 3.22)***

.22 (.06, 3.21)***

.19 (1.96, 2.57)**

Interpartner Conflict

Community Violence

Informal Support

Social Skills

Positive Parenting

Figure 2 Standardized parameter coefficients for mediation model. Parameter estimates are followed by standard errors and t-values for unstandardized coefficients. Non-significant paths have been deleted from the model. *(P < 0.05), **(P < 0.01), ***(P < 0.001).

Table 2 Summary of standardized effects on externalizing behaviours

Factor Direct effect Mediated effect Indirect effect Total effect

Inter-partner conflict 0.13* ns ns 0.13* Community violence ns 0.04* ns 0.04* Informal support ns ns -0.04* -0.04* Social skills -0.18** ns ns -0.18* Positive parenting -0.36*** -0.04 ns -0.40***

*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Statistical significance denoted as not significant (ns).

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

relationships were found between inter-partner con- flict and either positive parenting or social skills, indi- cating that these protective factors did not mediate the impact of inter-partner conflict.

Positive parenting was found to have a moderate, negative, direct effect (b = -0.36, P < 0.001) on exter- nalizing behaviours as well as a small, negative, indi- rect effect (b = -0.04, P < 0.05) through social skills. Although social skills met the first three of Baron & Kenny’s (1986) criteria for mediation, it did not meet the fourth criteria as the bivariate relationship between positive parenting and externalizing behav- iours did not change with the introduction of social skills into the model. As seen in Table 1, the bivariate correlation between positive parenting and externaliz- ing behaviours was -0.37. With the introduction of social skills into the model, the direct effect between parenting and externalizing behaviours is essentially unchanged (b = -0.36).Therefore it is not accurate to say the effect was mediated, but instead resulted in an additional indirect effect. The indirect effect was cal- culated as the product of the coefficients from the indicator variable to the mediator and from the media- tor to the outcome variable. As shown in Fig. 2, the path coefficient from positive parenting to social skills was 0.19 (P < 0.001), and the path coefficient from social skills to externalizing behaviours was -0.18 (P < 0.01); multiplying these two coefficients yielded -0.04, the effect of positive parenting on externalizing behaviours through social skills. The total effect of positive parenting on externalizing behaviours is the sum of all direct and indirect effects. In this analysis, the sum of the direct effect (-0.36) and the indirect effect (-0.04) was -0.40 (P < 0.001), indicating that increased positive parenting was associated with decreased externalizing behaviours. These results show that positive parenting served as a protective factor on two levels – positive parenting was directly related to decreased externalizing behaviours, and it

also supported social skills, which in turn also decreased externalizing behaviours.

Both exposure to community violence and informal social support were found to have community-level effects on externalizing behaviour. Although there was a statistically significant bivariate relationship between community violence and externalizing behaviours (Table 1), there was no significant direct effect in the ecological model, which indicated potential mediating effects. All four of Baron & Kenny’s (1986) criteria for mediation were met. The mediating effect of social skills on the relationship between community violence and externalizing behaviours was tested using Preacher & Hayes (2004) method and yielded a sta- tistically significant effect; multiplying the path coef- ficients of community violence to social skills (b = -0.21, P < 0.01) and social skills to externalizing behaviours (b = -0.18, P < 0.01) yielded a small, positive effect of 0.04 (P < 0.05). Although the results suggested that increased exposure to community vio- lence was associated with increased externalizing behaviours, the magnitude of the effect was signifi- cantly reduced by social skills. Whereas the bivariate relationship between community violence and exter- nalizing behaviours was 0.23 (Table 1), the mediated effect was only 0.04.

Because there was no significant bivariate correla- tion between informal social support and externalizing behaviours (Table 1), there was no mediated relation- ship to test. However, the significant relationship with social skills indicated the potential for indirect effects. A statistically significant, small, positive direct effect of informal social support on social skills (b = 0.24, P < 0.001) was found, indicating that increased social support was associated with increased social skills. Using the established relationship between social skills and externalizing behaviours, multiplying the path coefficients of social support to social skills (b = 0.24, P < 0.001) and social skills to externalizing behaviours

Table 3 Summary of standardized effects on internalizing behaviours

Factor Direct effect Mediated effect Indirect effect Total effect

Inter-partner conflict 0.22** ns ns 0.22** Community violence ns ns ns ns Informal support ns ns ns ns Social skills ns ns ns ns Positive parenting -0.32** ns ns -0.32**

**P < 0.01 Statistical significance denoted as not significant (ns).

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

(b = -0.18, P < 0.001) yielded a statistically significant, small, negative effect of -0.04 (P < 0.05) based on the Preacher & Hayes’ (2004) method.This indirect effect indicated that although there was no direct relationship between informal support and externalizing behav- iours, social support indirectly affected externalizing behaviours through its impact on social skills. A summary of all effects on externalizing behaviours is provided in Table 2.

Ecological effects on internalizing behaviour

Although the overall pattern of effects on child inter- nalizing behaviours is similar to that found with child externalizing behaviours, there are notable differ- ences. Beginning at the individual level in the ecologi- cal model, positive parenting was found to also have a statistically significant, moderate, negative direct effect on internalizing behaviours (b = -0.32, P < 0.001), indicating that positive parenting was associ- ated with fewer internalizing behaviours. A small, positive direct effect was found for inter-partner con- flict on externalizing behaviours (b = 0.22, P < 0.001), indicating that increased inter-partner conflict was associated with increased internalizing behaviours, and when compared with the analysis of externalizing behaviours, inter-partner conflict had a greater effect on internalizing behaviours. No significant relation- ships were found between inter-partner conflict and either positive parenting or social skills, indicating that these protective factors did not mediate the impact of inter-partner conflict.

In contrast to the analysis of effects on externalizing behaviours, there was no direct effect of social skills on internalizing behaviours. Similarly, results did not yield significant direct effects for either community- level factor on internalizing behaviours. All three of these variables had statistically significant bivariate relationships with internalizing behaviours (Table 1), but these effects were non-significant after controlling for the impact of inter-partner conflict and positive parenting. A summary of all effects on internalizing behaviours is provided in Table 3.

D I S C U S S I O N

This study examined the relationships between selected individual, family and community variables and the behaviour problems of urban, low-income African-American pre-schoolers. Overall, findings supported our proposed ecological model, revealing that inter-partner conflict was associated with higher

levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems in this sample of young African-American children, while positive parenting was associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviour prob- lems. Child social skills completely mediated the relationship between community violence and externalizing behaviours as well as between informal support and externalizing behaviours. Additionally, social skills partially mediated the relationships between positive parenting and externalizing behav- iours. In addition, positive parenting was found to have moderate direct effects on both internalizing and externalizing behaviours. Findings suggest that mothers who adopt strategies of warmth, responsive- ness, consistency and control in parenting may be able to reduce their children’s behaviour problems directly as well as indirectly by supporting the development of children’s pro-social skills.

Contrary to our hypothesis, the community-level risk factor of family exposure to community violence was not a significant risk factor. Although all of the families in the study resided in neighbourhoods char- acterized by violent crime, higher levels of family exposure to community violence was not found to be associated with greater internalizing or externalizing problems among pre-schoolers. Current results are inconsistent with previous research on African- American pre-schoolers that links community vio- lence exposure to child behaviour problems (Harden et al. 2000; Shahinfar et al. 2000; Linares et al. 2001). This finding may be explained in part by the relatively low levels of community violence exposure reported by participants. Another related issue that may account for this unexpected finding is the nature of the study’s measure, which describes not only chil- dren’s exposure to community violence, but other family members’ exposure as well. It may be possible that the effects of such violence exposure are not yet apparent, but may manifest later in the children’s development. It is also important to note that there was a significant relationship between community vio- lence and child behaviours before testing the mediat- ing effect of child social skills, at which point the relationship became non-significant.

As hypothesized, the family-level risk factor of con- flict between the mother and her partner was found to be associated with pre-schoolers’ internalizing and externalizing problems. These findings support a small number of studies (e.g. Edelson 1999; Linares et al. 2001) linking inter-partner conflict to behaviour problems in children. One can speculate that exposure to inter-partner conflict may have a particularly strong

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

impact on young children. Given their level of cogni- tive development and inability to verbalize their feelings, pre-schoolers exposed to conflict between mothers and their partners may experience fear, anxiety and other internalizing symptoms. Current findings also suggest that children who witness even moderate levels of verbal and physical conflict within their families may begin to model adult family members’ aggressive behaviour. However, the rela- tionship between inter-partner conflict and behav- iours was not mediated by positive parenting and the individual-level factor of children’s social skills. This may be explained in part by the fact that parenting skills and the social skills of children were reported by mothers. There may be discrepancies between what parent and child behaviour is reported and what actu- ally occurs. Unfortunately, it is not possible to deter- mine in this study if this finding was a result of maternal report bias. However, this finding suggests that perhaps multiple informants should be used (such as school teachers, parents, social worker, extended family member, etc.) to compare results for the purpose of decreasing bias, and verifying the accu- racy of parenting and child behaviour assessment. Moreover, a comparative and diverse sample may reveal socio-cultural differences in parenting and social skills of children that may be prudent to this discussion.

Positive parenting, a family-level factor, was found to play a protective role in this study. The findings revealed that mothers who employed more positive parenting practices had children who exhibited fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviour. Similarly, a mediating relationship was found to have an additive effect, with more positive parenting increasing child social skills, which in turn decreased externalizing behaviours. These results support previous research in which nurturant, involved parenting was related to fewer behaviour problems (Jackson et al. 2000; McGroder 2000) and greater social competence (McGroder 2000) in samples of predominantly African-American pre-schoolers. When mothers employ warmth, structure and appropriate control within the context of a stressful neighbourhood envi- ronment, children may be less likely to experience fears and anxiety or to engage in negative, aggressive behaviours to gain adult attention.

Contrary to our hypothesis, the community-level factor of informal social support did not have a direct effect on pre-schoolers’ behaviour problems. However, informal support was found to be positively correlated with social skills, enabling a small, but sta-

tistically significant, reduction in externalizing behav- iours. This finding suggests that extended kin, friends and members of community resource networks may lack the skills or continuous contact necessary to help children cope with anxiety and fears, or handle aggres- sion and difficult behaviour problems. More direct, one-on-one parenting practices, such as the nur- turance and guidance assessed with the parenting measure, may be necessary to effectively address chil- dren’s internalizing and externalizing problems. However, it is important to note that informal social support has an indirect effect on children’s behaviours by promoting more positive parenting. We might also find different patterns of protective processes by con- sidering other mediating variables, such as maternal spirituality and formal social support (Jones 2007).

Limitations and future research

Current findings extend the literature on risk and protective factors for African-American pre-schoolers growing up in violent communities, and cover new ground by examining mediating relationships between community violence, inter-partner conflict, parenting, informal social support and children’s social skills on behaviour problems. Nevertheless, limitations of this study must be noted. First, the cross-sectional nature of our data precluded testing of long-term and/or emergent effects of risk and protective factors. Second, participation was voluntary, making this sample neither random nor entirely representative of Head Start families in the target programmes. More- over, findings may not generalize to urban African- American pre-schoolers outside Head Start. Third, our study relied on mothers as the only informants of their children’s behaviours, suggesting the potential for bias in maternal reports. A last consideration is that this study focused primarily on family exposure to community violence within a one-year period, and it did not consider differences in witnessing and directly experiencing violent events.

To address these limitations, future research exam- ining relationships between family- and community- level ecological factors and children’s behaviour problems should employ longitudinal methods, use multiple measures of parenting and child behaviour (e.g. parent and teacher reports, independent obser- vations) and include families with pre-schoolers in a wider array of child care and educational settings. Future research should address the nature, severity and chronicity of community violence exposure to increase knowledge of its effects on child and parent/

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.

caregiver outcomes. Studies should also adopt addi- tional measures of inter-partner conflict, examining conflict between parents, residential and non- residential partners and other household members. Consistent with an ecological approach, future research should also explore the role of other potential protective factors in violent communities and homes with inter-partner/family conflict, such as maternal education, maternal religiosity, paternal involvement and school support (Elliott et al. 2006), and use more complex models to examine their possible moderating and mediating influences on child outcomes. These studies might also examine whether patterns of pro- tective processes differ for children at different devel- opmental stages, and for boys and girls.

Implications

Despite limitations, our results have implications for programmes and policies seeking to increase the resil- ience of African-American children living in poor, high-crime neighbourhoods throughout the USA as well as children living in similar conditions worldwide. Findings highlight the value of considering the social context of the family and community in developing interventions to build pre-schoolers’ social skills and help parents deal with behaviour problems. Drawing on results of our ecological study, practitioners can work to enhance positive parenting practices by utiliz- ing informal social support systems. Similarly, because of the strong relationship between parenting and child behaviour problems in this study, practitioners should offer parent education that seeks to increase children’s pro-social skills and reduce behaviour problems. Cul- turally sensitive parenting programmes that incorpo- rate the values and traditions of marginalized families, and that address the challenges of parenting in violent neighbourhoods, have been found to reduce some externalizing and internalizing problems of African- American pre-schoolers (Short et al. 2006). Perhaps these findings can be used to develop programmes with other culturally diverse and disenfranchised families outside of the USA. Parenting programmes may be especially valuable given the high rates of externalizing problems found among girls and the high rates of internalizing and externalizing problems found among boys in our study.

In addition to supporting interventions based on protective factors that strengthen family functioning, practitioners should work to reduce the family- and community-level risk factors linked to adverse child outcomes. Parents should be educated about the rela-

tionships between exposure to inter-partner conflict and community violence and children’s socio- emotional development as well as learn strategies to help children cope with these stressors.While it will be extremely difficult to reduce community violence in many neighbourhoods, it is critical that we continue to advocate for programmes and policies that will increase residents’ safety and security, improve com- munity policing and offer children healthy places to attend school and interact with their peers.

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