Children in Public Housing: The Role of Community on Emotional and Behavioral Development of Young Children

Background and Purpose: Behavior problems in early childhood predict lifelong physical health, mental health, and social functioning. Literature has recently recognized the role of community factors in the emotional and behavioral development among children. However, few studies have focused on behavior problems of young children in public housing. Children living in public housing are exposed to multiple stressors such as lack of available resources and limited community-based social support, safety concerns, and social stigma, impacting their emotional and behavioral development. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between community factors (community safety and social cohesion) and behavior problems (internalizing and externalizing behaviors) between young children living in public housing versus non-public housing.

Methods: Data was drawn from the third-year wave of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being study. The dependent variables were 1) mother-reported internalizing behaviors and 2) mother-reported externalizing behaviors, measured by 39 items from the Child Behavior Checklist 2-3. The independent variables were 1) neighborhood social cohesion; and 2) neighborhood safety. Mothers were asked five questions from the Social Cohesion and Trust Scale and eight questions from the Neighborhood Environment for Children Rating Scales. We averaged items of each scale with a high score indicating higher neighborhood social cohesion or safety. Three-year-old children from low-income families in public housing (n=334) and non-public housing (n=1,146) were included separately in the linear regression models. The models estimated associations between neighborhood safety and social cohesion with internalizing and externalizing behaviors, after controlling for child’s age and gender, and mother’s age, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, parental stress, depression, and neighborhood poverty at age 3.

Results: Children in public housing presented with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors compared to those in non-public housing. In multiple linear regression models, the safer the neighborhood was, the less likely public housing children presented with externalizing behaviors (b=-1.05, p<.01). Among non-public housing children, the safer the neighborhood was, children presented with less internalizing (b=-1.00, p<.001) and externalizing behaviors (b=-1.37, p<.001). As the neighborhood was more socially cohesive, non-public housing children exhibited less internalizing (b=-.11, p<.01) and externalizing behaviors (b=-.13, p<.001).

Conclusions and Implications: Protecting young children from socioeconomic adversity in early childhood is critical in ensuring children equal opportunity to thrive. Findings indicate differences in behavior problems between low-income young children living in public housing and non-public housing. Neighborhood safety is particularly critical in ensuring healthy emotional development and the well-being of children in public housing. Policies and practice may focus on providing safe environments for young children living in public housing. Further research may examine the mechanisms by which neighborhood safety affects behaviors problems among children in public housing.