Child Development Through Neighborhood Resources and Preschool Classroom Quality

The neighborhood a child grows up in has an impact on their development. In the American Journal of Community Psychology, IPR developmental psychologist Terri Sabol and her coauthors explore how neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and resources—such as libraries or doctors’ offices—are related to young children’s gains in language and literacy and executive function skills and the extent to which children’s classroom experiences help to explain that relationship. They analyzed data from two professional development programs for preschools, using information on 955 students across nine cities in the United States. They find that neighborhood SES and resources were individually associated with benefits to children’s development based on the classroom quality experiences, and these associations were magnified in communities that were particularly high in both SES and resources. Overall, the researchers conclude that both neighborhood SES and resources may individually promote child development through levels of classroom process quality, and these associations are enhanced in communities high in both SES and resources.

Terri Sabol is associate professor of human development and social policy.