Contextual factors of child behavioral health across developmental stages

Abstract

This study examines the relative influence of environmental contexts (family, school, neighborhood) on child behavioral health at ages 3, 5, 9, and 15 years. Path analysis was conducted on a sample of 4,898 urban children from a longitudinal dataset called the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Child physical abuse, emotional abuse, maternal depression, substance use, neighborhood social cohesion, neighborhood poverty, school connectedness, and peer bullying had concurrent relationships with child behavior problems at one or more developmental stages. Early childhood abuse (age 3) and school age environmental contexts (age 9) had lasting effects on later behavior problems. Findings underscore the importance of both multilevel contextual factors and developmental timing in determining behavioral health outcomes in children.