Neighborhood Safety
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Headline

About 3 out of every 10 non-Hispanic black and Hispanic children under age 18 live in neighborhoods that are never or sometimes safe, compared to less than 1 in 10 white children (8 percent), according to parent reports. (See Figure 1)

Importance

The neighborhood is a critical environment that influences child and youth development.¹ Social conditions of a neighborhood such as crime and physical disorder tend to occur along with negative child outcomes such as infant mortality and low birthweight, juvenile delinquency, high school dropout, and child abuse and neglect.² Children and adolescents living in neighborhoods characterized by crime or disorganization are also more likely to become victims of violent crime³ and to perpetrate acts of violence.⁴

Children who witness crime and violence are more likely to experience social and emotional problems such as aggression, stress, and withdrawal, as well as delinquency and low school achievement.⁵ Neighborhood safety is negatively associated with poor development among pre-school children.⁶ Parents who believe that their neighborhood is unsafe may limit their child's independent play outside, which can decrease the child's opportunities for spontaneous play and exploration, but also result in better social behavior due to the increased supervision.⁷ Some studies have found that a parental perception of an unsafe neighborhood is associated with the child being overweight.⁸

Trends

In 2003, the most recent year for which data are available, 16 percent of children lived in neighborhoods that are never or only sometimes safe, while 34 percent lived in neighborhoods that are usually safe, and half lived in neighborhoods that are always safe, according to parent reports. (See Table 1)

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Differences by Race and Ethnicity

About three out every 10 non-Hispanic black and Hispanic children live in neighborhoods that are described as never or only sometimes safe, compared with less than 1 in 10 white children (8 percent), according to parent reports. (See Figure 1)

Differences by Family Structure

Children living in single mother households are more than twice as likely as children living with two biological or adoptive parents to live in a neighborhood that is described as never or only sometimes safe (27 versus 12 percent) and almost twice as likely as children living with one biological parent and one stepparent (14 percent). (See Table 1)

Differences by Nativity

Foreign-born children and native-born children with foreign-born parents are about twice as likely as children of native-born parents to live in a neighborhood that is described as never or only sometimes safe. (See Figure 2)

Differences by Neighborhood Support

Children whose parents report that people in the neighborhood help each other out are more likely to live in safe neighborhoods. Six percent of children whose parents definitely agree that people in the neighborhood help each other out live in unsafe neighborhoods, compared with 32 of children whose parents somewhat disagree that people help each other out and 47 percent who definitely disagree. (See Figure 3)

Differences by Poverty Level

Children living below the poverty line are three times as likely children living at 200 percent of the poverty level or more to live in a neighborhood that is described as never or only sometimes safe (30 percent versus 9 percent, respectively). (See Figure 4)

Related Indicators

Violent Crime Victimization, Youth Who Feel Unsafe at School, Physical Fighting By Youth, Students Carrying Weapons,

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State and Local Estimates

2003 state estimates for neighborhood safety (parent report) are available through the National Survey of Children's Health at http://nschdata.org/DesktopDefault.aspx (Select Neighborhood Characteristics (survey section 10) under Survey Sections)

International Estimates

None available

National Goals

None

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What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

None available at this time

Research References

¹Parke, Ross D. and O'Neil, Robin L. (1999). "Neighborhoods of Southern California Children and Families." Future of Children, 9(2): 58-63. Available at: http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/vol9no2Art6done.pdf

²Sampson, Robert J., Morenoff, Jeffrey D., and Gannon-Rowley, Thomas. (2002). "Assessing "Neighborhood Effects": Social Processes and New Directions in Research." Annual Review of Sociology, 28: 443-478.

³Kendrick, Denise, Mulvaney, Caroline, Burton, Paul, and Watson, Michael. 2005. "Relationships between child, family and neighborhood characteristics and childhood injury: a cohort study". Social Science & Medicine. 60: 1905-1915.

⁴Todd I. Herrenkohl, Eugene Maguin, Karl G. Hill, J. David Hawkins, Robert D. Abbott and Richard F. Catalano. 2000. "Developmental risk factors for youth violence". Journal of Adolescent Health. 26: 3: 176-186.

⁵Reich, Kathleen, Culross, Patti L., and Behrman, Richard E. (2002). "Children, Youth, and Gun Violence: Analysis and Recommendations." Future of Children, 12(2): 5-23. Available at: http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/tfoc_12-2b.pdf.

⁶To, T., Cadarette, S.M., and Liu, Y. "Biological, social, and Environmental Correlates of Preschool Development." Child: Care, Health and Development. Vol. 27 (2).

⁷Parke, Ross D. and O'Neil, Robin L, 1999.

⁸Lumeng, Julie C., Appugliese, Danielle, Cabral, Howard J., et al. (2006). "Neighborhood Safety and Overweight Status in Children." Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 160:25-31.

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Definition

This indicator is based on the question, "How often do you feel the child is safe in your community or neighborhood?"

Data Source

Child Trends' original analyses of data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health

Raw Data Source

National Survey of Children's Health
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/slaits/nsch.htm

Approximate Date of Next Update

2008

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