Assessing low-income African-American pre-schoolers’behaviou.docx

Assessing low-income African-American pre-schoolers’
behaviour problems in relationship to community violence,
inter-partner conflict, parenting, informal social support
and social skillscfs_742 310..324
Linda M. Oravecz*, Philip J. Osteen†, Tanya L. Sharpe† and
Suzanne M. Randolph‡
*Towson University, Department of Family Studies and
Community Development, Towson, †University of Maryland,
School of Social Work, Baltimore, and ‡The MayaTech
Corporation, Silver Spring, MD, USA
A B S T R AC T
This study examined the relations among community violence
expo-
sure, inter-partner conflict and informal social support and the
behav-
iour problems of pre-schoolers, and explored how mothers’
parenting
skills and children’s social skills may mediate the child
outcomes
associated with such exposure. Participants were 185 African-
American mothers and female caregivers of Head Start children
who
completed study measures in a structured interview. Path
analyses
revealed that greater inter-partner conflict was associated with
more
internalizing and externalizing child behaviour problems.
Positive

parenting was associated with fewer internalizing and
externalizing
behaviours. Higher levels of child social skills were associated
with
fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. Child
social skills fully mediated the relationship between community
vio-
lence and externalizing behaviours as well as between informal
support and externalizing behaviours. Social skills partially
mediated
the relationships between positive parenting and externalizing
behav-
iours. No mediating effect was found on the relationships
between
inter-partner conflict and child behaviour problems.
Implications of
the findings for intervention and future research are discussed.
Correspondence:
Linda M. Oravecz,
Department of Family Studies and
Community Development,
Towson University,
8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252,
USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Keywords: African-American,
behaviour problems, community
violence
Accepted for publication: October
2010
I N T R O D U C T I O N
In the USA, nearly one in three African-American

children live in poverty (Annie E. Casey Foundation
2008), with many living in urban neighbourhoods
characterized by deteriorating housing, crime, drug
activity and community violence (e.g. Sampson et al.
1997; DeNavas-Walt et al. 2004; Elliott et al. 2006).
Additionally, adult inter-partner conflict has been
found to be more prevalent among families coping
with poverty and its related stressors than among
more affluent families (Browne & Bassuk 1997; Scott
et al. 2002). While data relative to childhood exposure
to violence worldwide are scarce, it is estimated that
4400 people die daily from inter-personal, collective
or self-directed violence (Krug et al. 2002). Previous
research examining the impact of exposure to com-
munity violence and inter-partner conflict on child
development has found a number of socio-emotional
and adjustment problems in both African-American
and other children (e.g. Harden & Koblinsky 1999;
Farver et al. 2005).While the majority of children who
reside in stressful environments exhibit socially com-
petent behaviour, some children are at risk for nega-
tive outcomes (Murry et al. 2001; Lynch 2006).
Authors Note: This study was funded by the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education, OERI, National Institute on Early Child-
hood Development (Grant No. R307F60099).
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00742.x
310 Child and Family Social Work 2011, 16, pp 310–324 ©
2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Existing literature reveals few studies that identify

family- and community-level factors that facilitate the
social competence of low-income, African-American
pre-schoolers living in high-crime neighbourhoods
(e.g. Murry et al. 2001). Similarly, there are few
studies examining the mechanisms through which
children’s exposure to community violence and inter-
partner conflict might be associated with pre-
schoolers’ behaviour problems (Farver et al. 2005).
More information is needed on how family function-
ing and community factors relate to children’s social
competence. Therefore, this study explored the role of
the selected family factors of inter-partner conflict
and positive parenting, the community factors of com-
munity violence and informal social support and the
individual factor of child social skills on the behaviour
problems of African-American pre-schoolers in low-
income, urban neighbourhoods.
An ecological/risk and resilience framework pro-
vided the conceptual framework for this study. Accord-
ing to this model, children’s development is affected by
the interactive influences of individual, family, commu-
nity and larger societal level systems (Bronfenbrenner
1986). Ecological models posit that there are risks and
protective factors within each of these four subsystems
that may affect young children’s growth and develop-
ment; when these factors are stressful, children are at
physical, cognitive and socio-emotional risk; when
factors are supportive, they may facilitate positive child
outcomes (Harden & Koblinsky 1999; Luthar & Cic-
chetti 2000). Resilience models attempt to identify
protective factors that have the potential to shield
children from stressful conditions, reduce the odds of
negative effects or decrease the relationship between
specific risks and child outcomes (Murry et al. 2001).
Protective factors have a positive influence under

adverse conditions and may not influence development
in low-risk situations (Luthar & Cicchetti 2000).
Cultural ecological models further stress the need
to consider child development and socialization pat-
terns within the context of the values, attitudes and
practices of specific cultural groups (e.g. Ogbu 1981;
Hill 1993). This approach recognizes that African-
American families often function within larger kinship
networks, which include family members and non-
related ‘fictive kin’ (Billingsley 1992). Involvement of
supportive individuals from one’s family and commu-
nity may facilitate children’s resilience in high-risk
environments (Hill 1993).
Researchers and practitioners have sought to iden-
tify individual-, family- and community-level factors
that may influence children’s well-being within the
context of deleterious living conditions (Masten
2001). Although many factors may affect the social
competence behaviour problems of poor, urban
African-American pre-schoolers, this study focused
on two potential risk factors and four potential pro-
tective factors that may have an impact on young
children’s behaviour. Specifically, we examined one
family-level risk factor, inter-partner conflict and one
community-level risk factor, exposure to community
violence. Our study further explored three potential
protective factors: the family-level variable of positive
parenting, the community-level variable of informal
social support and the individual-level variable of chil-
dren’s social skills. Four of these variables (inter-
partner conflict, parenting, informal social support
and children’s social skills) were selected because of
their potential for educational intervention. The fol-

lowing is a brief review of target variables and their
hypothesized relationships to child outcomes.
Risk factors
Exposure to community violence, a community-level risk
factor, was defined as the experience or witnessing of
violent events, instigated by known or unknown per-
petrators, within the proximal environment of one’s
home, neighbourhood or school (Shahinfar et al.
2000). Research suggests that both direct victimiza-
tion and indirect exposure, such as witnessing violent
acts, can have harmful effects on young children’s
development (e.g. Harden & Koblinsky 1999). In one
study, inner-city Head Start children who witnessed
or heard about violent neighbourhood events exhib-
ited more emotional distress and aggression than
peers with less violence exposure (Farver et al. 2005).
Other research has linked both direct and indirect
violence exposure to both externalizing and internal-
izing child behaviour problems (e.g. Linares et al.
2001), as well as symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder (e.g. Foy & Goguen 1998).
Community violence is believed to exert some of its
influence on child behaviour through its effect on the
family (Lynch 2006). Witnessing or experiencing
community violence may cause parents to feel dis-
tressed and overwhelmed, reducing their ability to
provide children with a sense of safety and security.
Previous studies (e.g. Linares et al. 2001) found that
maternal or family distress mediates the link between
neighbourhood violence exposure and child behaviour
problems. This research illustrates the importance of
measuring community violence exposure within the
family system; such exposure not only affects children,

Community violence exposure L M Oravecz et al.
but also family members and their relationships with
children (Lynch 2006).
A family-level potential risk factor, inter-partner con-
flict, was defined as aggressive behaviours involving
the child’s mother/female caregiver and her male
partner; such behaviours range from verbal and emo-
tional abuse to physical abuse (Straus 1979). Expo-
sure to inter-partner conflict has been associated with
many symptoms of psychological distress among
children, including anxiety, depression and post-
traumatic stress disorder (e.g. Attala & Summers
1999; Harden et al. 2000). The literature on pre-
schoolers’ experiences with inter-partner conflict lags
significantly behind that focusing on elementary age
children (Harden & Koblinsky 1999). However, in a
Boston sample of low-income mothers of primarily
African descent, Linares et al. (2001) found that
greater inter-partner aggression was related to higher
levels of internalizing and externalizing problems
among the mothers’ pre-school children. Another
study of African-American pre-schoolers in Washing-
ton, DC, also found a strong positive association
between inter-partner conflict and children’s external-
izing problems (Harden et al. 2000).
Protective factors

In addition to examining risk factors, ecological
models attempt to identify protective factors that may
shield children from stressful conditions, reduce the
odds of negative effects or decrease the relationship
between specific risks and child outcomes. Positive
parenting is one family-level factor that may contribute
to more optimal outcomes for children in stressful
environments (McGroder 2000). Three parenting
constructs have been linked to social competence:
parental support, structure and control (Slater &
Power 1987). Parental support, or the caregiver’s
ability to make the child feel accepted and approved,
involves nurturance, warmth and affection. Structure
includes both organization and consistency in the
child’s environment, as well as parental involvement
and modelling of socially mature behaviour. Parental
control refers to the amount of authority the caregiver
exerts over the child through methods such as disci-
pline. Previous research links parental support and
structure to children’s competence, self-reliance and
compliance (Jackson et al. 2000). Flexible methods of
parental control have also been positively related to
social competence, while rigid, coercive strategies
have been negatively linked to children’s adjustment
(Hagekull et al. 2001).
Previous research has explored the relationship
between African-American mothers’ parenting prac-
tices and their young children’s behaviour problems.
In one study of low-income black pre-schoolers in
Detroit, Barnett et al. (1998) found that mothers who
scored higher on measures of involved, supportive
parenting had pre-schoolers with fewer behaviour
problems. A similar study of pre-schoolers from
African-American, single-parent families in urban
Georgia linked high levels of parental nurturance with

greater social maturity (McGroder 2000). Recent
research involving African-American children from
pre-school through adolescence suggests that nur-
turant, involved parenting combined with firm control
is predictive of higher social competence (e.g. Klein &
Forehand 2000). Greater use of control among low-
income black parents, as compared with their middle-
income white peers, has been attributed to parents’
need to protect children from neighbourhood dangers
and negative peer influences within an inner city envi-
ronment (Mason et al. 1996).
Informal social support is a community-level factor
with the potential to enhance pre-schoolers’ social
competence in stressful urban neighbourhoods. In this
study, informal social support included the instru-
mental and emotional help that mothers received in
rearing their child from members of their informal
support networks, including family members, friends,
church members and co-workers (Dunst et al. 1984).
Research shows that extended family and friends
often participate in the care and support of African-
American children, especially when families lack
financial resources (e.g. Hill 1993; Demo & Cox
2000). Such informal support may increase the
amount and quality of time parents spend with chil-
dren and offer more opportunities for parental
involvement in children’s education. Informal net-
works may also reduce maternal stress, provide chil-
dren with guidance and emotional support and
connect families with resources that mitigate exposure
to taxing neighbourhood conditions (Ceballo &
McLoyd 2002).
Another mechanism that may influence the link
between exposure to community violence and inter-

partner conflict and children’s behaviour problems is
the individual-level factor child social skills. Although
several studies provide compelling evidence for child
behaviour problems following exposure to community
violence (Pynoos et al. 1987; Martinez & Richters
1993; Kliewer et al. 1998), it is unclear whether child
social skills act as a mediator of pre-school behav-
ioural problems in the wake of community violence,
inter-partner conflict and compromised social
support. What is known is that a high level of inter-
personal and social skills contributes to early success-
ful school performance (McClelland et al. 2000).
Moreover, deficits in social skills have also been found
to coincide with the development and continuance of
destructive behavioural patterns. A lack of social skills
can lead to behavioural difficulties in school, delin-
quency, inattentiveness, peer rejection, emotional
difficulties, bullying, difficulty in making friends,
frequent special education referrals, aggressiveness,
problems in inter-personal relationships, poor self-
concept, academic failures, concentration difficulties,
isolation from peers and depression (Fuchs et al.
1990; McColloch & Gilbert 1991; Bellis 2002; Walker
& Severson 2002). Thus, examining child social skills
is a critical component to the assessment of pre-school
behaviour problems in as much as they are critical to
further developing knowledge relevant to those con-
structs that impact pre-school behaviour. Similarly,

previous research suggests that a way to manage child
behaviour is through the teaching of social skills, the
fundamental foundation for getting along well with
others (Bellis 2002). When children enter the school
system (despite other environmental stressors), they
are expected to have acquired certain knowledge,
skills and experience that will enable them to navigate
their way through the academic and social task the
school environment requires to succeed. Thus, it is
imperative that social skills be taught to students at an
early age for the purpose of preventing and decreasing
the aforementioned behaviours. In this study, child
social skills included self-control, cooperation, posi-
tive assertion and responsibility.
Our study explored relationships among commu-
nity violence exposure, inter-partner conflict, positive
parenting, informal social support, child social skills
and African-American pre-schoolers’ behaviour prob-
lems. A major purpose of this study was to examine
whether community violence, inter-partner conflict
and informal social support were associated with child
outcomes, and also whether positive parenting and
children’s social skills mediated the effects of commu-
nity violence exposure, inter-partner conflict and
informal social support on children’s behaviour prob-
lems. Based on prior research, we hypothesized that
community violence and inter-partner violence would
be associated with more child behaviour problems and
that informal social support would be associated with
fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviours
among pre-schoolers. We also hypothesized that more
positive parenting and higher levels of children’s social
skills would mediate the relationships, with more posi-
tive parenting and social skills being associated with

fewer behaviour problems.
M E T H O D
Participants
The sample consisted of 184 African-American
women who were mothers or caregivers (17% were
grandmothers or other relatives) of a pre-school child
enrolled in a Head Start programme. All reported
being married or involved in a relationship with a male
partner during the past year, including 38% who had
a male partner in residence and 62% who had a male
partner who was not a permanent resident in their
home. Participants resided in the Washington, DC
metropolitan area, which included an adjoining Mary-
land county. All families reported incomes below the
official poverty line. Pre-school children in the study
were between the ages of 42 and 67 months, with a
mean age of 54 months (4 1/2 years). Approximately
54% of the children were girls and 46% were boys.
All participants resided in ‘high violence’ neigh-
bourhoods, identified through crime data from Dis-
trict of Columbia and Maryland police departments,
including the Violent Crime Index; moreover, partici-
pating families resided in the city’s most violent
wards. The mean violent crime rate per 100 000
inhabitants for the District of Columbia in the year
data were collected was 1628 compared with the
national mean of 525 for the 50 states and the District
(Federal Bureau of Investigation 2007).
Measures
Family and child exposure to community violence

A 17-item, study-specific measure was developed to
assess whether the mother or other family members
had witnessed and/or experienced different types of
community violence within the last year. Mothers
were instructed to report only on events that occurred
in the community and to exclude violent incidents
involving partners or family members. Eight items
were selected from existing community violence mea-
sures (e.g. Richters & Martinez 1993), including
physical assault, robbery with physical assault, stab-
bing, non-fatal shooting, fatal shooting, rape, gang-
related violence and other violent crime (with a
request to specify the type). Mothers provided two
responses for each of the eight items: first, whether
they or family members had witnessed each event, and
second, whether they or family members had person-
ally experienced each violent crime. A 17th item asked
whether the pre-school child had witnessed any of the
eight violent alternatives. Pilot testing revealed that no
pre-school children had personally experienced these
crimes and the advisory board counselled against
asking whether children had been directly victimized.
Mothers answered each item with a yes or no, and a
total score (0–17) was computed for each family.
Cronbach’s alpha for the measure was 0.71.
Inter-partner conflict

The 18-item Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus
1979) measures the mother’s handling of inter-
personal conflict with her male partner in the areas of
reasoning, verbal aggression and physical violence.
Participants reported on the frequency of each behav-
iour (e.g. insulted or swore at you, slapped you)
during the last year on a seven-point scale that
included: (0) never; (1) once; (2) twice; (3) 3–5 times;
(4) 6–10 times; (5) 11–20 times; and (6) more than 20
times. This CTS scoring protocol involved summing
the 15 items on the verbal aggression and physical
violence subscales to measure total inter-partner con-
flict in the mother’s relationship during the last year.
Possible scores ranged from 0 to 84, with higher scores
indicating higher conflict. The CTS has been used in
more than 400 studies, including several that support
construct validity for African-American couples
(Straus 1990). Overstreet & Braun (2000) found the
CTS to be reliable with a sample of low-income
African-American mothers. The alpha in this study
was 0.78.
Positive parenting
The 26-item Parenting Dimensions Inventory (PDI;
Slater & Power 1987) assesses parental use of nur-
turance, consistency, responsiveness and control.
Participants responded to statements, such as ‘I
encourage my child to talk about his or her troubles’
and ‘Once I decide how to deal with (child’s) misbe-
haviour, I follow through on it’. Participants indicated
the extent to which each item was similar to their own
behaviour on a scale ranging from (1) not at all like me
to (6) highly like me. Several studies have supported
the reliability and validity of the PDI with samples of

low-income African-American mothers (e.g. Kelly
et al. 1992; Bluestone & Tamis-LeMonda 1999); it
had an alpha of 0.75 in this study.
Informal social support
The Family Support Scale (FSS; Dunst et al. 1984)
measures a parent’s social support in rearing her
child. The first 13 items comprise the ‘informal
support scale’, including familial (e.g. parents,
partner, own children) and extra-familial (e.g. friends,
co-workers, church members) sources of support. Par-
ticipants rated the amount of help received from each
source in raising their child over the last 3–6 months
on a scale ranging from 0 (not at all helpful) to 4
(extremely helpful). Dunst et al. (1984) report strong
psychometrics for the FSS, and the scale has been
found reliable with samples of low-income African-
American mothers of pre-schoolers (e.g. Letiecq et al.
1996). Cronbach’s alpha for the informal support
subscale in this study was 0.81.
Child social skills
The 49-item Social Skills Rating System (SSRS;
Gresham & Elliott 1990) includes four subscales that
assess children’s self-control, cooperation, assertion
and responsibility. Self-control measures a child’s
ability to respond appropriately in conflict situations
such as controlling temper when being teased. Coop-
eration addresses behaviours such as sharing and
obeying rules. Assertion assesses a child’s capacity to
ask others for help/information and the ability to make
friends easily. Finally, responsibility focuses on a
child’s ability to communicate appropriate informa-
tion to adults and demonstrate respect for others’

property or work. Mothers rated the frequency of
child behaviours on a three-point scale including (0)
never, (1) sometimes and (2) very often. A total score
was obtained, with higher scores reflecting more
optimal social skills. Gresham & Elliott (1990) report
adequate internal consistency reliability, test-retest
reliability and evidence of content and criterion-
related ability for the SRSS standardization sample,
which included 20% African-American children. The
alpha in this study for total skills was 0.78, which was
similar to that obtained for the standardization sample
(Meier 2000).
Child behaviour problems
The Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 Parent Form
(CBCL; Achenbach 1991) is a 113-item measure of
children’s behaviour problems completed by a parent
or familiar adult. The CBCL includes subscales of
internalizing problems, such as acting sad, fearful or
withdrawn, and externalizing problems, such as fight-
ing, teasing and anger. Mothers rate child behaviours
on a three-point scale (0–2) with alternatives of not
true, sometimes true and very/often true. Raw scores
are converted to t-scores based on normative samples
for boys and girls. The CBCL has been found to have
strong psychometric properties in studies of children
from diverse racial/ethnic and socio-economic back-

grounds (Achenbach 1991), including African-
American pre-schoolers (e.g. Gross et al. 2006).
Alphas in this study were 0.89 for girls and 0.88 for
boys on the internalizing subscale, and 0.87 for girls
and 0.89 for boys on the externalizing subscale.
Procedure
Study data came from a US Department of Education
funded project examining the development of African-
American pre-school children in neighbourhoods
characterized by high levels of crime and violence.The
total study sample consisted of 223 African-American
mothers; the 184 participants in this study were women
who reported being married or involved in a relation-
ship with a male partner during the past year. Univer-
sity researchers partnered with Head Start agencies in
Washington, DC and Maryland to conduct the study.
Mothers were invited to volunteer through a letter sent
to families in the target centres. If a mother had more
than one Head Start child, one was randomly chosen
for the study. Participants completed a 90- to 120-
minute structured interview in their Head Start centre.
This interview included demographic information and
study measures in a fixed order recommended by the
project advisory board (with more sensitive measures
such as the CTS placed at the end). Participants were
paid $25. Although informed of their right to withdraw
without penalty, all 184 completed the interview.
Trained female project staff (faculty, graduate students
and a post-doctoral fellow) interviewed study mothers.
Approximately half of the interviewers were African-
American and half were white; there were no race of
interviewer effects on any study measures.
Data analysis

Analysis of the ecological model presented in Fig. 1
was conducted using PASW Statistics 18 (SPSS Inc.,
Chicago, IL, USA) (PASW 2009) for descriptive sta-
tistics and bivariate correlations, and Jöreskog &
Sörbom (2007) Lisrel 8.80 for Windows (Scientific
Software International, Lincolnwood, IL, USA) for
structural equation modelling and path analysis. As an
extension of multiple regression, path analysis was
chosen as the preferred statistical method in this study
because of the ability to include multiple dependent
variables in the model and to test for the effects of
intervening variables on the relationships between
independent and dependent variables. As illustrated in
Fig. 1, Inter-partner Violence, Community Violence
and Social Support were treated as independent vari-
ables presumed to impact other variables in the model.
Conversely, Internalizing and Externalizing Behav-
iours were treated as dependent variables as they were
presumed to be impacted by the other variables in the
model. Parenting Skills and Children’s Social Skills
were treated as intervening variables presumed to
influence the relationships between independent and
dependent variables.
Both direct and indirect effects were estimated in
the model using maximum likelihood estimation.
Direct effects are the significant bivariate relationships
between any two variables. Indirect effects are the
relationships between any two variables established
through one or more intervening variables. The total
effect of one variable on another is the sum of its direct
and indirect effects. A special type of indirect effect is
mediation. Mediation may exist if a previously signifi-
cant direct effect changes based on an indirect effect.

In complete mediation, a significant direct effect
becomes non-significant, whereas in partial mediation
a significant direct effect remains but changes in mag-
nitude. An indirect effect may exist even if there is no
significant bivariate relationship between independent
and dependent variables, but this is different from a
mediation effect.
Baron & Kenny (1986) established criteria for
determining mediation based on the relationships
between independent, mediator and dependent vari-
ables. First, the independent and dependent variables
should be related. Second, the independent and
mediator variable should be related. Third, the media-
tor and dependent variable should be related. Fourth,
the relationship between independent and dependent
variable should change with the introduction of the
mediator variable. Although widely accepted as appro-
priate conceptual criteria, Preacher & Hayes (2004)
criticized the Baron and Kenny method as having low
power and not providing a direct test of the indirect
effect. Post hoc analysis of the mediating effects of
Positive Parenting and Social Skills was conducted
using bootstrapping methods outlined by Preacher &
Hayes (2004) for formal tests of indirect effects. The
Preacher and Hayes’ method tests the null hypothesis
that the indirect effect of the independent variable on
the dependent variable is zero. If the null hypothesis is

rejected, it can be assumed that there is an indirect
effect. If there was a significant bivariate correlation
between independent and dependent variables before
the introduction of the intervening variable(s), then
the indirect effect is in fact a mediating effect.
Assumptions of linearity and independence were
met.The assumption of normality was not met for any
of the model variables; however path analysis is con-
sidered robust to minor violations of normality with
larger samples (n > 100). Skewness and kurtosis were
within acceptable ranges while bootstrapping analysis
of mediation effects has no distributional assump-
tions. Only four cases (2.2%) had missing data and
were removed from the analyses using listwise dele-
tion. Post hoc power analysis yielded observed power
of 0.8 for detecting small effects (G*Power 3.0.10,
Faul et al. 2007).
R E S U LT S
A mediation path analysis was conducted to test the
theoretical model presented in Fig. 1. Specific analyses
include descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations and
significance testing of direct and indirect effects in the
model.
Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses
Descriptive statistics were computed for all variables
in the mediation model. Risk factors in the model are
participant families’ exposure to community violence
and incidence of inter-partner conflict. Participants’
mean score on the community violence measure was
2.9 (with a range of 0–9), indicating that the average

child’s family had witnessed or experienced approxi-
mately three acts of violence in the immediate com-
munity during the last year. Participants’ mean score
on the inter-partner conflict scale was 11.8 (with a
range of 0–51), signifying a moderate level of inter-
partner conflict (Straus 1979).
Protective factors in the model are positive parent-
ing, informal support and child social skills. Mothers’
average PDI score of 4.7 (on a scale with a midpoint
of 3.5) indicated more optimal parenting practices.
Community
Violence
(community level)
Interpartner
Conflict
(family level)
Externalizing
Behaviors
(individual level) Informal Support
(community level)
Child Social Skills
(individual level)
Internalizing
Behaviors
(individual level)

Positive Parenting
(family level)
Figure 1 Conceptual mediation model.
Mothers’ mean informal social support score was 20.0
(with a range of 1–48), with the average mother rating
her support system as sometimes to generally helpful.
Children’s total mean score on the SSRS was 51.5,
placing them in the ‘average’ behaviour range for the
national standardization sample (Gresham & Elliott
1990).
Child outcomes in the model are internalizing
behaviours and externalizing behaviours. Examining
CBCL scores, 11.8% of boys and 4% of girls had
t-scores in the clinical range (T = 67+) for internalizing
problems; 18.8% of boys and 20% of girls had t-scores
in the clinical range (T = 67+) for externalizing prob-
lems. Approximately 5% of standardization sample
children were in the clinical range for both types of
problems (Achenbach 1991). Thus, boys in this study
exhibited more than twice the rate of internalizing
problems and more than three times the rate of exter-
nalizing problems as the standardization sample. Girls
had internalizing problems similar to the standardiza-
tion sample, but four times the rate of externalizing
problems.

Bivariate analyses
Bivariate analyses were conducted for both Pearson
bivariate correlations between all model variables
and gender differences on social skills, internalizing
behaviours and externalizing behaviours. The corre-
lation matrix is provided in Table 1. Child outcomes
were found to be significantly correlated with all
other variables excluding informal support, with
effect sizes ranging from small to moderate (Cohen
1988). Small but significant effects were found for
community violence and internalizing (r = 0.18, P <
0.05) and externalizing (r = 0.23, P < 0.05) prob-
lems, indicating that exposure to community vio-
lence is associated with negative child outcomes.
Inter-partner conflict was also positively correlated
with internalizing (r = 0.26, P < 0.05) and external-
izing (r = 0.19, P < 0.05) problems, suggesting a link
between inter-partner conflict and negative child
outcomes. Moderate negative correlations were
found between positive parenting and internalizing
(r = -0.35, P < 0.05) and externalizing (r = -0.37,
P < 0.05) behaviours, as well as small to moderate
effects between social skills and internalizing (r =
-0.16, P < 0.05) and externalizing (r = -0.29, P <
0.05) behaviours. Protective factors appear to be
associated with reduced negative child outcomes.
Informal social support was not correlated with child
outcomes, but it was positively correlated with social
skills (r = 0.23, P < 0.05), indicating a possible indi-
rect effect on child outcomes.
Independent samples analyses were conducted to
test for significant differences in internalizing and
externalizing behaviours between boys and girls. No

significant differences were found in mean scores on
internalizing or externalizing behaviours. Tests of pro-
portions were also conducted to determine if differ-
ences in numbers of boys vs. girls in the clinical range
for negative child outcomes were significant. Differ-
ences in proportions were not statistically significant.
Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations are
summarized in Table 1.
Path analysis and mediation effects
A mediation path analysis was conducted to test the
direct effects of community violence, inter-partner
conflict and informal support on internalizing and
externalizing child behaviours as well as indirect
effects mediated by positive parenting and child social
skills. The final model is presented in Fig. 2. All
Table 1 Summary of descriptive statistics and bivariate
correlations
Internalizing Externalizing
Inter-partner
conflict
Community
violence Parenting Social skills Informal
Internalizing 1
Externalizing 0.66** 1
Inter-partner conflict 0.26** 0.19* 1
Community violence 0.18* 0.23** 0.19** 1
Parenting -0.35** -0.37** -0.14 0.09 1
Social skills -0.16* -0.29** -0.07 -0.19** 0.19* 1
Informal support -0.02 -0.07 0.004 -0.02 -0.07 0.23** 1

Mean 52.72 55.96 11.76 2.07 4.68 51.50 20.60
Standard deviation (9.59) (10.59) (11.67) (2.22) (0.72) (11.51)
(8.78)
*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.
reported coefficients for direct effects were significant
at P < 0.05. Non-significant paths were deleted from
the model. Based on Muthén & Muthén’s (2007)
recommendations, path coefficients are reported as
standardized values followed by standard errors and
t-scores for the unstandardized coefficients. Path coef-
ficients can be interpreted as standardized beta values
in multiple regression. Each outcome variable, inter-
nalizing behaviours, externalizing behaviours and
social skills, is associated with an error term, indicat-
ing unexplained variance; error terms can be calcu-
lated as 1 - R2. For internalizing behaviours, the error
term is 0.85, indicating 15% explained variance. For
externalizing behaviours, the error term is 0.82, indi-
cating 18% explained variance. For social skills, the
error term is 0.85, indicating 15% explained variance.
Based on fit indices, data are a good fit to the model
(c2(11) = 18.23, P = 0.08; Root Mean Square Error of
Approximation = 0.06; Comparative Fit Index = 0.95;
Standardized Root Mean Square Residual = 0.06).
Significant direct, mediation and indirect effects are
summarized in Tables 2 and 3.

Ecological effects on externalizing behaviour
Significant effects on child externalizing behaviours
were found at each level of the ecological model.
Beginning at the individual level and working
outward, a small, negative direct effect was detected
between child social skills and externalizing behav-
iours (b = -0.18, P < 0.01), with better social skills
associated with fewer behaviour problems. Statistically
significant direct and mediated effects were found for
family-level factors. A small, positive direct effect was
found for inter-partner conflict on externalizing
behaviours (b = 0.13, P < 0.05), indicating that
increased inter-partner conflict was associated with
increased externalizing behaviours. No significant
.24 (.09, 3.45)***
-.21 (.36, -3.05)**
.50 (7.17, 6.91)***
-.32 (.90, -4.70)***
-.36 (.99, -5.30)***
-.18 (.05, -2.27)**
Externalizing
Behaviors
Internalizing
Behaviors
.85

.82
.85
.13 (.06, 1.98)*
.19 (1.10, 3.22)***
.22 (.06, 3.21)***
.19 (1.96, 2.57)**
Interpartner
Conflict
Community
Violence
Informal
Support
Social Skills
Positive
Parenting
Figure 2 Standardized parameter coefficients for mediation
model. Parameter estimates are followed by standard errors
and t-values for unstandardized coefficients. Non-significant
paths have been deleted from the model. *(P < 0.05),
**(P < 0.01), ***(P < 0.001).
Table 2 Summary of standardized effects on externalizing
behaviours
Factor Direct effect Mediated effect Indirect effect Total effect

Inter-partner conflict 0.13* ns ns 0.13*
Community violence ns 0.04* ns 0.04*
Informal support ns ns -0.04* -0.04*
Social skills -0.18** ns ns -0.18*
Positive parenting -0.36*** -0.04 ns -0.40***
*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.
Statistical significance denoted as not significant (ns).
relationships were found between inter-partner con-
flict and either positive parenting or social skills, indi-
cating that these protective factors did not mediate the
impact of inter-partner conflict.
Positive parenting was found to have a moderate,
negative, direct effect (b = -0.36, P < 0.001) on exter-
nalizing behaviours as well as a small, negative, indi-
rect effect (b = -0.04, P < 0.05) through social skills.
Although social skills met the first three of Baron &
Kenny’s (1986) criteria for mediation, it did not meet
the fourth criteria as the bivariate relationship
between positive parenting and externalizing behav-
iours did not change with the introduction of social
skills into the model. As seen in Table 1, the bivariate
correlation between positive parenting and externaliz-
ing behaviours was -0.37. With the introduction of
social skills into the model, the direct effect between
parenting and externalizing behaviours is essentially

unchanged (b = -0.36).Therefore it is not accurate to
say the effect was mediated, but instead resulted in an
additional indirect effect. The indirect effect was cal-
culated as the product of the coefficients from the
indicator variable to the mediator and from the media-
tor to the outcome variable. As shown in Fig. 2, the
path coefficient from positive parenting to social skills
was 0.19 (P < 0.001), and the path coefficient from
social skills to externalizing behaviours was -0.18 (P <
0.01); multiplying these two coefficients yielded
-0.04, the effect of positive parenting on externalizing
behaviours through social skills. The total effect of
positive parenting on externalizing behaviours is the
sum of all direct and indirect effects. In this analysis,
the sum of the direct effect (-0.36) and the indirect
effect (-0.04) was -0.40 (P < 0.001), indicating that
increased positive parenting was associated with
decreased externalizing behaviours. These results
show that positive parenting served as a protective
factor on two levels – positive parenting was directly
related to decreased externalizing behaviours, and it
also supported social skills, which in turn also
decreased externalizing behaviours.
Both exposure to community violence and informal
social support were found to have community-level
effects on externalizing behaviour. Although there was
a statistically significant bivariate relationship between
community violence and externalizing behaviours
(Table 1), there was no significant direct effect in the
ecological model, which indicated potential mediating
effects. All four of Baron & Kenny’s (1986) criteria for
mediation were met. The mediating effect of social
skills on the relationship between community violence
and externalizing behaviours was tested using

Preacher & Hayes (2004) method and yielded a sta-
tistically significant effect; multiplying the path coef-
ficients of community violence to social skills (b =
-0.21, P < 0.01) and social skills to externalizing
behaviours (b = -0.18, P < 0.01) yielded a small,
positive effect of 0.04 (P < 0.05). Although the results
suggested that increased exposure to community vio-
lence was associated with increased externalizing
behaviours, the magnitude of the effect was signifi-
cantly reduced by social skills. Whereas the bivariate
relationship between community violence and exter-
nalizing behaviours was 0.23 (Table 1), the mediated
effect was only 0.04.
Because there was no significant bivariate correla-
tion between informal social support and externalizing
behaviours (Table 1), there was no mediated relation-
ship to test. However, the significant relationship with
social skills indicated the potential for indirect effects.
A statistically significant, small, positive direct effect of
informal social support on social skills (b = 0.24, P <
0.001) was found, indicating that increased social
support was associated with increased social skills.
Using the established relationship between social skills
and externalizing behaviours, multiplying the path
coefficients of social support to social skills (b = 0.24,
P < 0.001) and social skills to externalizing behaviours
Table 3 Summary of standardized effects on internalizing
behaviours
Factor Direct effect Mediated effect Indirect effect Total effect
Inter-partner conflict 0.22** ns ns 0.22**
Community violence ns ns ns ns
Informal support ns ns ns ns

Social skills ns ns ns ns
Positive parenting -0.32** ns ns -0.32**
**P < 0.01
Statistical significance denoted as not significant (ns).
(b = -0.18, P < 0.001) yielded a statistically significant,
small, negative effect of -0.04 (P < 0.05) based on the
Preacher & Hayes’ (2004) method.This indirect effect
indicated that although there was no direct relationship
between informal support and externalizing behav-
iours, social support indirectly affected externalizing
behaviours through its impact on social skills. A
summary of all effects on externalizing behaviours is
provided in Table 2.
Ecological effects on internalizing behaviour
Although the overall pattern of effects on child inter-
nalizing behaviours is similar to that found with child
externalizing behaviours, there are notable differ-
ences. Beginning at the individual level in the ecologi-
cal model, positive parenting was found to also have a
statistically significant, moderate, negative direct
effect on internalizing behaviours (b = -0.32, P <
0.001), indicating that positive parenting was associ-
ated with fewer internalizing behaviours. A small,
positive direct effect was found for inter-partner con-
flict on externalizing behaviours (b = 0.22, P < 0.001),

indicating that increased inter-partner conflict was
associated with increased internalizing behaviours,
and when compared with the analysis of externalizing
behaviours, inter-partner conflict had a greater effect
on internalizing behaviours. No significant relation-
ships were found between inter-partner conflict and
either positive parenting or social skills, indicating that
these protective factors did not mediate the impact of
inter-partner conflict.
In contrast to the analysis of effects on externalizing
behaviours, there was no direct effect of social skills on
internalizing behaviours. Similarly, results did not
yield significant direct effects for either community-
level factor on internalizing behaviours. All three of
these variables had statistically significant bivariate
relationships with internalizing behaviours (Table 1),
but these effects were non-significant after controlling
for the impact of inter-partner conflict and positive
parenting. A summary of all effects on internalizing
behaviours is provided in Table 3.
D I S C U S S I O N
This study examined the relationships between
selected individual, family and community variables
and the behaviour problems of urban, low-income
African-American pre-schoolers. Overall, findings
supported our proposed ecological model, revealing
that inter-partner conflict was associated with higher
levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviour
problems in this sample of young African-American
children, while positive parenting was associated with
fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviour prob-
lems. Child social skills completely mediated the

relationship between community violence and
externalizing behaviours as well as between informal
support and externalizing behaviours. Additionally,
social skills partially mediated the relationships
between positive parenting and externalizing behav-
iours. In addition, positive parenting was found to
have moderate direct effects on both internalizing and
externalizing behaviours. Findings suggest that
mothers who adopt strategies of warmth, responsive-
ness, consistency and control in parenting may be able
to reduce their children’s behaviour problems directly
as well as indirectly by supporting the development of
children’s pro-social skills.
Contrary to our hypothesis, the community-level
risk factor of family exposure to community violence
was not a significant risk factor. Although all of the
families in the study resided in neighbourhoods char-
acterized by violent crime, higher levels of family
exposure to community violence was not found to be
associated with greater internalizing or externalizing
problems among pre-schoolers. Current results are
inconsistent with previous research on African-
American pre-schoolers that links community vio-
lence exposure to child behaviour problems (Harden
et al. 2000; Shahinfar et al. 2000; Linares et al. 2001).
This finding may be explained in part by the relatively
low levels of community violence exposure reported
by participants. Another related issue that may
account for this unexpected finding is the nature of
the study’s measure, which describes not only chil-
dren’s exposure to community violence, but other
family members’ exposure as well. It may be possible
that the effects of such violence exposure are not yet
apparent, but may manifest later in the children’s
development. It is also important to note that there

was a significant relationship between community vio-
lence and child behaviours before testing the mediat-
ing effect of child social skills, at which point the
relationship became non-significant.
As hypothesized, the family-level risk factor of con-
flict between the mother and her partner was found to
be associated with pre-schoolers’ internalizing and
externalizing problems. These findings support a
small number of studies (e.g. Edelson 1999; Linares
et al. 2001) linking inter-partner conflict to behaviour
problems in children. One can speculate that exposure
to inter-partner conflict may have a particularly strong
impact on young children. Given their level of cogni-
tive development and inability to verbalize their
feelings, pre-schoolers exposed to conflict between
mothers and their partners may experience fear,
anxiety and other internalizing symptoms. Current
findings also suggest that children who witness even
moderate levels of verbal and physical conflict within
their families may begin to model adult family
members’ aggressive behaviour. However, the rela-
tionship between inter-partner conflict and behav-
iours was not mediated by positive parenting and the
individual-level factor of children’s social skills. This
may be explained in part by the fact that parenting
skills and the social skills of children were reported by
mothers. There may be discrepancies between what

parent and child behaviour is reported and what actu-
ally occurs. Unfortunately, it is not possible to deter-
mine in this study if this finding was a result of
maternal report bias. However, this finding suggests
that perhaps multiple informants should be used
(such as school teachers, parents, social worker,
extended family member, etc.) to compare results for
the purpose of decreasing bias, and verifying the accu-
racy of parenting and child behaviour assessment.
Moreover, a comparative and diverse sample may
reveal socio-cultural differences in parenting and
social skills of children that may be prudent to this
discussion.
Positive parenting, a family-level factor, was found
to play a protective role in this study. The findings
revealed that mothers who employed more positive
parenting practices had children who exhibited fewer
internalizing and externalizing behaviour. Similarly, a
mediating relationship was found to have an additive
effect, with more positive parenting increasing child
social skills, which in turn decreased externalizing
behaviours. These results support previous research in
which nurturant, involved parenting was related to
fewer behaviour problems (Jackson et al. 2000;
McGroder 2000) and greater social competence
(McGroder 2000) in samples of predominantly
African-American pre-schoolers. When mothers
employ warmth, structure and appropriate control
within the context of a stressful neighbourhood envi-
ronment, children may be less likely to experience
fears and anxiety or to engage in negative, aggressive
behaviours to gain adult attention.
Contrary to our hypothesis, the community-level
factor of informal social support did not have a

direct effect on pre-schoolers’ behaviour problems.
However, informal support was found to be positively
correlated with social skills, enabling a small, but sta-
tistically significant, reduction in externalizing behav-
iours. This finding suggests that extended kin, friends
and members of community resource networks may
lack the skills or continuous contact necessary to help
children cope with anxiety and fears, or handle aggres-
sion and difficult behaviour problems. More direct,
one-on-one parenting practices, such as the nur-
turance and guidance assessed with the parenting
measure, may be necessary to effectively address chil-
dren’s internalizing and externalizing problems.
However, it is important to note that informal social
support has an indirect effect on children’s behaviours
by promoting more positive parenting. We might also
find different patterns of protective processes by con-
sidering other mediating variables, such as maternal
spirituality and formal social support (Jones 2007).
Limitations and future research
Current findings extend the literature on risk and
protective factors for African-American pre-schoolers
growing up in violent communities, and cover new
ground by examining mediating relationships between
community violence, inter-partner conflict, parenting,
informal social support and children’s social skills on
behaviour problems. Nevertheless, limitations of this
study must be noted. First, the cross-sectional nature
of our data precluded testing of long-term and/or
emergent effects of risk and protective factors.
Second, participation was voluntary, making this
sample neither random nor entirely representative of
Head Start families in the target programmes. More-

over, findings may not generalize to urban African-
American pre-schoolers outside Head Start. Third,
our study relied on mothers as the only informants of
their children’s behaviours, suggesting the potential
for bias in maternal reports. A last consideration is
that this study focused primarily on family exposure to
community violence within a one-year period, and it
did not consider differences in witnessing and directly
experiencing violent events.
To address these limitations, future research exam-
ining relationships between family- and community-
level ecological factors and children’s behaviour
problems should employ longitudinal methods, use
multiple measures of parenting and child behaviour
(e.g. parent and teacher reports, independent obser-
vations) and include families with pre-schoolers in a
wider array of child care and educational settings.
Future research should address the nature, severity
and chronicity of community violence exposure to
increase knowledge of its effects on child and parent/
caregiver outcomes. Studies should also adopt addi-
tional measures of inter-partner conflict, examining
conflict between parents, residential and non-
residential partners and other household members.
Consistent with an ecological approach, future
research should also explore the role of other potential
protective factors in violent communities and homes

with inter-partner/family conflict, such as maternal
education, maternal religiosity, paternal involvement
and school support (Elliott et al. 2006), and use more
complex models to examine their possible moderating
and mediating influences on child outcomes. These
studies might also examine whether patterns of pro-
tective processes differ for children at different devel-
opmental stages, and for boys and girls.
Implications
Despite limitations, our results have implications for
programmes and policies seeking to increase the resil-
ience of African-American children living in poor,
high-crime neighbourhoods throughout the USA as
well as children living in similar conditions worldwide.
Findings highlight the value of considering the social
context of the family and community in developing
interventions to build pre-schoolers’ social skills and
help parents deal with behaviour problems. Drawing
on results of our ecological study, practitioners can
work to enhance positive parenting practices by utiliz-
ing informal social support systems. Similarly, because
of the strong relationship between parenting and child
behaviour problems in this study, practitioners should
offer parent education that seeks to increase children’s
pro-social skills and reduce behaviour problems. Cul-
turally sensitive parenting programmes that incorpo-
rate the values and traditions of marginalized families,
and that address the challenges of parenting in violent
neighbourhoods, have been found to reduce some
externalizing and internalizing problems of African-
American pre-schoolers (Short et al. 2006). Perhaps
these findings can be used to develop programmes
with other culturally diverse and disenfranchised
families outside of the USA. Parenting programmes

may be especially valuable given the high rates of
externalizing problems found among girls and the
high rates of internalizing and externalizing problems
found among boys in our study.
In addition to supporting interventions based on
protective factors that strengthen family functioning,
practitioners should work to reduce the family- and
community-level risk factors linked to adverse child
outcomes. Parents should be educated about the rela-
tionships between exposure to inter-partner conflict
and community violence and children’s socio-
emotional development as well as learn strategies to
help children cope with these stressors.While it will be
extremely difficult to reduce community violence in
many neighbourhoods, it is critical that we continue to
advocate for programmes and policies that will
increase residents’ safety and security, improve com-
munity policing and offer children healthy places to
attend school and interact with their peers.
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