A Multilevel Study of Neighborhoods and Parent-to-Child Physical Aggression: Results From the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods

TLDR

Parent‑to‑child physical aggression is common in the U.S., and prior research links community characteristics to severe child maltreatment. This study investigates whether neighborhood factors influence the frequency of corporal punishment or physical abuse by families using a multilevel design. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling on Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods data, employing an interval scale of parent‑to‑child physical aggression. Neighborhood characteristics, including immigrant concentration and the interaction between neighborhood social networks and Hispanic ethnicity, were significantly associated with parent‑to‑child physical aggression, suggesting that neighborhood factors may influence family use of corporal punishment and that targeted interventions could be effective.

Abstract

The majority of children in the United States experience parent-to-child physical aggression (PCPA), a disciplinary strategy out of favor with many experts. Several decades of research have documented a link between community characteristics and severe child maltreatment. None have taken a multilevel approach to study whether neighborhoods affect the amount of corporal punishment and/or physical abuse used by individual families. Data for this article come from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods and were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. An interval scale of PCPA was developed. Values obtained show that several neighborhood characteristics were associated with PCPA. Immigrant concentration remained significant after controlling for family composition. A cross-level interaction was found between neighborhood social networks and Hispanic race/ethnicity. The article’s conclusion is that neighborhood characteristics may influence the amount of PCPA used by families. Neighborhood intervention strategies hold promise.