Assessing Structural Models of Neighborhood and Family Sociodemographic Characteristics and Relations with Externalizing Psychopathology Open Access

Abstract

Externalizing psychopathology in youth includes symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Prior studies of youth externalizing find small associations with neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics and small-to-moderate associations with family sociodemographic characteristics. However, such studies generally use suboptimal operationalizations of neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics and broad externalizing psychopathology. Consequently, the relations between these variables may be misestimated. The current study 1) addresses these limitations with a latent variable modeling approach to characterize more optimal measurement models for externalizing, family sociodemographic, neighborhood sociodemographic, and neighborhood environment characteristics, and 2) assesses structural relations between these constructs. Using a population-representative, ethnically diverse sample of 2192 twins and siblings from the Georgia Twin Study and data from the National Neighborhood Data Archive and 2000 U.S. Census, I assessed the fit of competing measurement models for family sociodemographic, neighborhood sociodemographic, and neighborhood environment characteristics. In structural models, I regressed a general externalizing factor (comprising DSM-IV symptoms of ADHD, ODD, and CD) on the latent factors of family sociodemographic, neighborhood sociodemographic, and neighborhood environment characteristics. Family sociodemographic characteristics were associated with externalizing psychopathology (R² = .01, b = -.079, SE = .038, p = .040), while neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics (R² = .00, b = -.016, SE = .062, p = .800) and neighborhood environment (R² = .00, b = .021, SE = .061, p = .734) were not. Family sociodemographic characteristics were associated with neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics (R² = .13, b = -.354, SE = .068, p < 0.001) and neighborhood environment (R² = .04, b = -.186, SE = .081, p = .022). Results align with prior work indicating family sociodemographic characteristics are associated with externalizing psychopathology. However, when accounting for family sociodemographic characteristics, these results do not support direct associations between neighborhood characteristics and broad externalizing psychopathology.

Table of Contents

Introduction                                                                                                                                 1

Method                                                                                                                                         9

Results                                                                                                                                         19

Discussion                                                                                                                                   24

References                                                                                                                                   31

Tables                                                                                                                                          43

Figures                                                                                                                                         49

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Clinical Psychology
Degree	M.S.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Clinical
Keyword	Family Environment Sociodemographic Externalizing Neighborhood
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Irwin Waldman, Emory University
Committee Members	Rohan Palmer, Emory University Stella Lourenco, Emory University

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