Neighborhood Crime and Academic Achievement in Middle Childhood: An Exploration of Potential Mediating and Moderating Pathways of Family Stress and the Teacher-Child Relationship

The neighborhood context is an important predicator of developmental outcomes, as it is where children spend much of their time. Especially when it comes to urban, low-income areas, high neighbor danger and crime have been considered a developmental risk. Research has documented the links between neighborhood environments and academic achievement, but less is known regarding the holistic view that considers contexts in conjunction with the neighborhood, despite these being important levels of influence. Thus, this study examined: 1) the direct associations between parent report of neighborhood danger and objectively measured neighborhood crime and academic achievement (e.g., Woodcock-Johnson IV), 2) family level stress as a potential mediator in these links, and 3) the teacher-child relationship as a potential moderator of these associations. Participants were from the ethnically and socioeconomically diverse Arizona Twin Project study (N=707 twin children, Mage = 8.44 years; SD = 0.69; 28.0% Hispanic/Latino, 57.7% Non-Hispanic White, 3.4% Asian American, 3.8% African American, 2.6% Native American, and 2.8% multiethnic or other; 53.5% middle to upper class, 15.6% lower middle class, 21.6% living near the poverty line, and 7.4% living in poverty as calculated by an income to needs ratio). There were no direct effects between subjective neighborhood danger and indicators of academic achievement, but there was a positive association between objective crime and scores on applied problems (an indicator of math achievement). Family- level stress was a significant mediator of perceptions of neighborhood danger and scores on passage comprehension (an indicator of reading achievement) but did not play a mediating role in the relation between objective crime and academic achievement. Specifically, higher levels of danger and crime were associated with greater levels of family stress, and lower levels of academic achievement scores. The teacher-child relationship was not a moderator in the relation between neighborhood danger/crime and academic achievement. Study findings provide additional evidence regarding the differences in subjectively versus objectively obtained data on the neighborhood environment and can inform future intervention (e.g., in the home and at schools) that support student’s academic achievement by addressing multiple levels of contextual influence.