Neighborhood Danger, Parental Monitoring, Harsh Parenting, and Child Aggression in Nine Countries
Ann T. Skinner,
Dario Bacchini,
Jennifer E. Lansford,
Jennifer W. Godwin,
Emma Sorbring,
Sombat Tapanya,
Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado,
Arnaldo Zelli,
Liane Peña Alampay,
Suha M. Al-Hassan,
Anna Silvia Bombi,
Marc H. Bornstein,
Lei Chang,
Kirby Deater-Deckard,
Laura Di Giunta,
Kenneth A. Dodge,
Patrick S. Malone,
Maria Concetta Miranda,
Paul Oburu,
Concetta Pastorelli
Affiliations
Ann T. Skinner
Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Dario Bacchini
Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Jennifer E. Lansford
Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Jennifer W. Godwin
Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Emma Sorbring
Department of Psychology, University West, 46186 Trollhättan, Sweden
Sombat Tapanya
Department of Psychiatry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado
Consultorio Psicológico Popular, Universidad de San Buenaventura, Carrera 56C No. 51-90, Medellín, Colombia
Arnaldo Zelli
Department of Education Sciences, Foro Italico University of Rome, 00135 Rome, Italy
Liane Peña Alampay
Department of Psychology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City 1108, Philippines
Suha M. Al-Hassan
Queen Rania Faculty for Childhood, The Hashemite University, Zarqa 13115, Jordan
Anna Silvia Bombi
Department of Social and Devlopmental Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Marc H. Bornstein
Child and Family Research Program in Developmental Neuroscience, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
Lei Chang
Department of Educational Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
Kirby Deater-Deckard
Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Laura Di Giunta
Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Kenneth A. Dodge
Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Patrick S. Malone
Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Colombia, SC 29208, USA
Maria Concetta Miranda
Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Paul Oburu
Department of Education Psychology, Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya
Concetta Pastorelli
Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Exposure to neighborhood danger during childhood has negative effects that permeate multiple dimensions of childhood. The current study examined whether mothers’, fathers’, and children’s perceptions of neighborhood danger are related to child aggression, whether parental monitoring moderates this relation, and whether harsh parenting mediates this relation. Interviews were conducted with a sample of 1293 children (age M = 10.68, SD = 0.66; 51% girls) and their mothers (n = 1282) and fathers (n = 1075) in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). Perceptions of greater neighborhood danger were associated with more child aggression in all nine countries according to mothers’ and fathers’ reports and in five of the nine countries according to children’s reports. Parental monitoring did not moderate the relation between perception of neighborhood danger and child aggression. The mediating role of harsh parenting was inconsistent across countries and reporters. Implications for further research are discussed, and include examination of more specific aspects of parental monitoring as well as more objective measures of neighborhood danger.
