Family Process Environmental Measures in the NLSY97: Variation by Race and Socioeconomic Conditions

Abstract

This article uses data from the NLSY97 to provide a descriptive portrait of family environmental indices—family/home risk, physical environment risk, enriching environments for youth, and family religious practices. The report includes a brief overview of the literature on risk, resilience, and protective factors as they relate to family processes, detailed information about the indices related to family/home risk, physical environment risk, enriching environments for youth, and family religious practices, as well as variations in each of these indices by adolescent gender, race, family income, and family structure. The comparisons were performed using analysis of variance to control for group differences. Results show that White adolescents reported fewer environmental risks and more protective factors than African American adolescents. Parents of African American adolescents reported higher religiosity than parents of Hispanic or White adolescents. Other findings with respect to gender, race, and income, as well as some interaction effects, were also indicated by the analysis.