Preschoolers’ Psychosocial Development, Parents, and Neighborhoods: Towards an Integrative Approach for Immigrant Families

Abstract

Nearly 5.5 million children between the ages of 0–5 in the US have at least one immigrant parent, and 22% of these children live below the poverty line. Emerging research highlights the importance of examining the neighborhood- and parenting-level risks and resources that are most impactful for young children of immigrants’ social development. Using a subsample of 3–5-year-old children (N = 1134) from the National Survey of Children’s Health (CAHMI, 2018), this study tested a conceptual model of cross-level interactions between neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), behavior problems and flourishing in young children who have at least one foreign-born parent. Structural equation modeling results suggested an indirect effect of neighborhood SES on child flourishing and behavioral problems through neighborhood- (collective efficacy, resources) and parent-level characteristics (mental health, aggravation, parent-child interaction). The relations between neighborhood structure and child outcomes were fully mediated by parenting. Specifically, disadvantages in neighborhood structure had significant direct effects on parental mental health, parenting aggravation, and parent-child interaction, which explained relations between neighborhood structure and child outcomes. Results point to future research areas and potential policy and prevention interventions at neighborhood and parental levels.