Behavioral and Academic Adjustment in Elementary School

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A child?s first few years of elementary school have been referred to as a "critical period" for development because academic achievement during the early years of school is one of the strongest predictors of a child?s long term academic success. This study will explore the influence of family and neighborhood characteristics on parent involvement in school and on the behavioral adjustment and academic achievement of elementary school children. The study design will include be cross-sectional with a short-term longitudinal follow-up, and the sample will include 480 first grade children and their families living in 60 different neighborhoods in Baltimore. Home interviews will be conducted during the fall of first grade, and a brief telephone survey will be conducted during the final few months of the academic year. Home interviews will consist of questions regarding parent attitudes and behaviors, parent perceptions of the neighborhood, and assessments of the child. Academic achievement information will be abstracted from school records. The follow-up telephone survey will include a parent report of the child?s adjustment to school and parent involvement in school. The following research questions will be addressed: (1) How do neighborhood structure (i.e., economic impoverishment, graffiti, vacant housing) and neighborhood climate (i.e., social cohesion) influence parental involvement in school, both directly and as mediated by neighborhood involvement processes (i.e., collective socialization practices)?; (2) Do neighborhood structure and climate, as mediated by parental involvement, influence a child?s behavioral adjustment to elementary school?; and (3) Do neighborhood structure and climate, as mediated by parental involvement, influence a child?s academic achievement in elementary school? Analysis methods will include the latest statistical tools for multilevel analysis and structural equations modeling.