Homeownership, Neighborhood Conditions, and Child Outcomes for Low and Moderate Income Families

Purpose Previous theory and research suggest that children of homeowners have better developmental outcomes than children whose parents are renters. However, research has not yet established how homeownership and neighborhood conditions interact to predict child outcomes. Moreover, the potential benefits of homeownership for children from low- and moderate-income (LMI) households are not thoroughly examined. Using a sample of LMI households, this study investigates the effect of LMI homeownership and neighborhood conditions on children's behavioral outcomes.

Method We analyze data from the 2008 Community Advantage Program (CAP) survey, a quasi-experimental study that has collected data on LMI homeowners annually since 2003. Neighborhood-level data from the 2000 U.S. Census is linked to each household. The sample includes LMI households with a child between 3 and 18 years of age (N=812). Parental evaluation of the focal child's behavior was collected using a 10-item version of the Positive Behavior Scale (PBS). We analyze the average score for all PBS items (alpha=. 84) and two subscales measuring the child's social competence and compliance. The sub-scales are constructed based on existing implementations of the PBS. This study applies nested hierarchical regression models with propensity score weighting to account for endogeniety and sample selection. The first model includes a set of individual characteristics (homeownership, child age and gender, respondent's demographics, various measures of household financial resources). The second model adds neighborhood characteristics (poverty rate, stability, population density) to the first model's independent variables. The third model adds interaction terms between homeownership status and neighborhood characteristics. The contribution of added variables to later models is assessed by an F-test that evaluates whether the increase of R-squared is efficient, given the cost of the additional independent variables.

Results This study finds that the effect of homeownership on PBS differs by neighborhood conditions, especially by neighborhood stability and density. Further, this study found that the addition of neighborhood characteristics and interaction terms between homeownership and neighborhood characteristics significantly increases the explanatory power of the model for all three outcomes (<.001). After adding neighborhood covariates, homeownership is still significantly and positively related to PBS compliance (<.001), but it is not significantly related to PBS competence. Neighborhood characteristics are significantly related to both PBS compliance and PBS competence. Significant interaction terms between homeownership and neighborhood conditions are graphically presented.

Implications Our findings make a meaningful contribution to both social work research and policy by offering insights into the relationship between LMI homeownership, neighborhood characteristics and child outcomes. The findings shed light on the importance of homeownership and neighborhood environment for children's behavioral outcomes. Interestingly, the effect of homeownership on child's positive behavior heavily depends on neighborhood conditions. To develop efficient and effective intervention programs for child behavior among LMI households, interplay between homeownership and neighborhood conditions should be considered.