December 27, 2023

Growing up in a high crime and low income area has far reaching negative consequences on children. Some people are reducing this study to individuals. “I know someone who made it out” like if one person did it, everyone can. That one person hasn’t been studied in a control group to identify what sets them apart. We can look at the research to support parents who can only afford to live in a low income area.

Chaos and neighborhood disorganization is defined in some of the research as graffiti, drug use and dealing, violent crimes and other ambient hazards. Fear of crime is the common underlying theme linking poor health and neighborhood disorder. This may be more prevalent in an urban area versus a rural area. Poor individuals in urban areas and rural areas show up in studies with different results.

Another study shows that income is the biggest factor in health outcomes for those living in urban areas. Those who grow up in households with the average household income being below the poverty line have a higher percentage of suffering from neighborhood disorder. 

As a result of this study, you may think that throwing money at the problem is going to improve the result.  I prefer to think about things that are in our control as educators and parents.

The most recent study on neighborhood disorder is from 2020. They refer to it as “socioeconomic disadvantage.” The study found that instantaneous exposure to the  disorder is associated with pain and fatigue. They studied older adults and found that as these older adults move through the city, encountering features like broken windows, abandoned buildings, and litter can lead to physical pain. Repeated or chronic exposure to this blight, decaying infrastructure, and high rates of crime or deviance are challenging and stressful. (Cornwell 536). So just the mere presence of decaying infrastructure causes stress. 

This is important research because children elicit the same response as adults. Only, they are not fully developed yet. Their personality is developing. Let’s look at this through the lens of Erickson’s Initiative vs. Guilt: Psychosocial Stage 3. This stage occurs from ages 3 to 5. This is why preschool is important.  This looks like the enthusiastic desire to try new tasks, join or come up with activities with friends, and continuously use new skills . Trauma at this stage will hold their development back and then they will be pushed through to the next level with students their age having skipped over this level.

 Properly developed in Stage 3, the child will have initiative. Those who develop initiative are comfortable to try new activities and experiences. They are comfortable with not being able to control everything. When they do make mistakes, they don’t feel guilty; they understand that they just need to try again. This helps them develop ambition and direction. Can you see a connection between this stage of development and what urban poverty areas contribute to the underdevelopment of children who live there?

The question parents may have is “what can I do about it?” To help develop your kid even if they have moved past this stage, when you notice they struggle, encourage the child to see their mistakes as opportunities to learn. “What can I learn from this?.Talk to the teachers about your goal and ask them to avoid excessive criticism, ridicule, and dismissiveness. You should also avoid negativity even in discipline. Every mistake should be reframed as a chance to learn. Encourage the child to keep trying through practice and persistence. They should be able to ask questions. What is happening is that children are asking questions of Google instead of their parents, because the parents have somehow discouraged curiosity in the presence of the parents.

Our educators can support you in helping your child develop to the level of their age. Ask in the forum or schedule a one-on-one with one of our educators.

References and other research to consider

Cornwell, E. Y., & Goldman, A. W. (2020). Neighborhood Disorder and Distress in Real Time: Evidence from a Smartphone-Based Study of Older Adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 61(4), 523–541. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48634747

Measuring Neighborhood Order and Disorder: a Rapid Literature Review

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6920232/

ERKAN, N. Ç., & SEVIN TOPÇU, B. (2021). Gender-based differences in fear of crime in public spaces: An investigation of a safe district in Istanbul. Urbani Izziv, 32(2), 87–97. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27093722

Lee, S., Chin, M., & Sung, M. (2021). Are Neighbors and Neighborhoods Still Important? Examining the Impact of Neighbors and Neighborhood Environments on Mothers’ Parenting Stress. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 52(3), 317–343. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27092308