James R. McDonell

Toward a science of community intervention.

Most programs for preventing child maltreatment have relied largely or exclusively on individual- and family-level interventions. However, the absence of community-level strategies conflicts with a growing body of research showing the importance of community factors in the prevalence of child abuse and neglect. Parents trying to cope with dangerous community conditions may become too punitive or, conversely, insufficiently watchful. In short, parents rearing children in weak communities have a hard job to do. Conversely, however, supportive communities can mitigate the threats posed by risky environments. Programmatic experience and the research program in Strong Communities for Children suggest some possible directions. The study also indicates reasons that the generation and application of community research have been slow, and suggests steps to remediate these problems.

HIV/AIDS and homelessness

This article describes the results of research on the demographic, housing, psychosocial characteristics, and service needs of a sample of homeless people with HIV disease. Results show that respondents are similar in demographic and housing characteristics to the general homeless population. On average, respondents report high levels of stress and depression, moderate satisfaction with perceived social support availability, moderate beliefs in their ability to influence health related outcomes, moderate levels of self-efficacy, and low levels of physical and psychosocial disability. A range of services was identified as both helpful and useful in supporting a stable living arrangement. Implications for social policy, service provision, and research are discussed.

Community differences in the implementation of Strong Communities for Children

In 1993, the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect recommended a neighborhood-based strategy to prevent child abuse and neglect. The Board further recommended the development of Prevention Zones to allow for testing of the effectiveness of community-wide child protection efforts in neighborhoods of differing population density, ethnic and cultural composition, and social and economic resources. Following the Boards recommendation, this article presents the results of a trial of the effectiveness of a neighborhood-based strategy in low- and high-resource communities. Using management, survey, and administrative data, the research showed that both community types experienced declines in founded cases of and injuries suggesting child maltreatment for children under age 5. Low-resource communities experienced greater levels of mobilization, as measured by community and institutional engagement, and a greater number of positive outcomes related to changes in the quality of life for families and community norms relative to child and family well-being. In particular, the low-resource communities experienced the largest increases in receiving help from neighbors, neighboring, perceived household safety for neighborhood children, and observed positive parenting. High-resource communities experienced greater increases in intermediate outcomes related to self-reported parenting practices. The findings suggest that, ultimately, community mobilization can occur and be an effective means of preventing child maltreatment across community types. It appears, however, that community mobilization may play a more significant role in low-resource communities.

Professional Help-Seeking for Adolescent Dating Violence in the Rural South The Role of Social Support and Informal Help-Seeking

Structural equation modeling with three waves of data was used to assess a mediation model investigating the relationship between perceived social support, informal help-seeking intentions, and professional help-seeking intentions in the context of adolescent dating violence. The sample included 589 adolescents from a rural, southern county who participated in a longitudinal study of teen dating violence victimization and perpetration. Results suggest that informal help-seeking intentions are an important link between perceived social support and professional help-seeking intentions. Findings highlight the importance of informal help-seeking and informal help-giving in fostering professional help-seeking for adolescent victims and perpetrators of dating violence.

Neighborhoods and Families

Neighborhoods have a profound impact on children and their families, including health and safety, educational attainment, child maltreatment risk, and many others. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the specific mechanisms through which neighborhood physical and social characteristics features influence child and family outcomes. This chapter looks at current definitions for community and family and reviews research for community effects on parenting, health, safety, academic achievement, and general well-being for children and adults. The chapter concludes with implications for the research findings for policy and practice.

Promoting informal and professional help-seeking for adolescent dating violence

The present study examined factors that differentiate adolescents with varied intentions of informal and professional help-seeking for dating violence. Help-seeking intentions among 518 ethnically diverse adolescents from a rural, southern county who participated in a longitudinal study of teen dating violence were categorized into three groups: adolescents unlikely to seek any help, adolescents likely to seek only informal help, and adolescents likely to seek informal and professional help. Multinomial logistic regression found that gender, family functioning, problem-solving competency, dating status, having an adult to talk to about a dating relationship, and acceptability of family violence significantly predicted membership in the help-seeking groups. Implications for promoting informal and professional help-seeking and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Differential Adjustment Among Rural Adolescents Exposed to Family Violence

This study examines differences in psychological adjustment in a sample of rural adolescents who have been exposed to family violence. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 580 adolescents and their primary caregivers. The results revealed that over two thirds of the study participants (68.8%) had been exposed to violence in their families. As hypothesized, cluster analysis identified several profiles among adolescents, distinguished by their psychological and emotional functioning: well adjusted (46.2%), moderately adjusted (44.3%), and struggling (9.5%). Discriminant function analysis confirmed the groupings and revealed that family functioning was among the most influential factors explaining adjustment differences. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) further showed that adolescents from each of the three adjustment profiles reported significantly different levels of family social support, parental involvement, and perceived neighborhood safety. Overall, the results confirm heterogeneity of adolescent adaptation in the aftermath of family violence and provide insights into family and neighborhood factors that account for variability in adolescents’ reactions to violence. Implications for future research and practical interventions are discussed.