Family moderators of relation between community disadvantage and adolescent adjustment problems

The study of vulnerability and resilience in children and adolescents has become one of the most promising fields of developmental research. Growing up in adverse communities appears to place adolescents at high-risk for socioemotional problems while the existence of appropriate parenting behavior and good parent-child relationships promotes adolescent competence despite risky situations. Using a sample of high-risk adolescents in rural Midwestern communities, the present study examined (1) the impact of disadvantaged community structure on adolescent emotional and behavioral adjustments and (2) the effects of parental control as well as parental warmth/support in mitigating the community effect on adolescent outcomes;Results showed that community disadvantage had a direct impact on adolescent psychological distress, but not on adolescent conduct problems. Appropriate parental control moderated the community effect on adolescent conduct problems. However, the interaction of parental warmth/support with community disadvantage was not significant in predicting adolescent psychological distress. Additional findings included evidence of a restraining effect of good parenting behavior in highly disadvantaged communities on conduct problems. Parental control reduced the probability of adolescent conduct problems when community disadvantage was minimal, but its effect dissipated when community disadvantage was severe. Interpretations of the results mainly rested on community disadvantage as a risk factor and appropriate parenting behavior and good parent-adolescent relationships as protective factors for adolescent adjustment. Implications of the findings for future research and public policy are discussed