Abstract
Research on neighborhood effects has increasingly focused on how long children have lived in a deprived neighborhood during childhood (duration), but has typically ignored when in childhood the exposure occurred (timing) and whether circumstances were improving or deteriorating (sequencing). Using Dutch register data, we applied sequence analysis to simultaneously capture duration, timing, and sequencing of exposure to neighborhood (dis)advantage in childhood. Compared to children who lived in a deprived neighborhood throughout childhood, we found that children who were exposed to neighborhood deprivation only during adolescence were equally likely to become a teenage parent and were more likely to drop out of school. Unexpectedly, children who lived in an affluent neighbor-hood throughout childhood were most likely to engage in delinquent behavior.
Highlights
It has repeatedly been shown that children who grow up in a deprived neighborhood are more likely to engage in several types of problem behavior during adolescence than children who grow up in more affluent neighborhoods (Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn 2000)
The primary aim of this study is to examine how and to what extent such different patterns of exposure to neighborhood disadvantage during childhood are related to three types of problem behavior in adolescence, viz. teenage childbearing, school dropout, and delinquent behavior
Whereas previous research showed that children exposed to poor neighborhoods for extended periods have worse outcomes than children exposed to neighborhood poverty for only a short time (e.g., Wodtke et al 2011), the current study showed that it is crucially important when in childhood the exposure occurs, i.e. the timing of exposure
Summary
It has repeatedly been shown that children who grow up in a deprived neighborhood are more likely to engage in several types of problem behavior during adolescence than children who grow up in more affluent neighborhoods (Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn 2000). Research has almost exclusively relied on single point-in-time indicators of children’s neighborhood characteristics (e.g., Brooks-Gunn et al 1993). These measures have been criticized for the fact that children’s neighborhood characteristics may change over time, either because families move to a different neighborhood or because neighborhoods themselves change over time (Kleinepier and van Ham 2017). The increasing availability of longitudinal data has enabled recent studies to develop more dynamic measures of children’s neighborhood experiences. Most of these studies have focused on the duration of exposure to poor and nonpoor
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
