Study sheds some light on how neighborhoods affect poor teen boys

By The Marshall Project, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.16.16

Word Count 849

Wearing a red jacket, Devion Allen, an eighth-grader at Chopin Elementary School, walks home on a Safe Passage route with friends in Chicago, Illinois, Nov. 6, 2013. AP Photo/Martha Irvine

It might seem obvious that kids who grow up in the poorest neighborhoods are the most likely to get into trouble. After all, they live in areas with higher crime rates. They tend to have few of the supports, like good schools, that might help them get ahead in life.

It turns out that may not be entirely true.

A new study looked at poor teenagers living in extremely poor neighborhoods. The average family in these neighborhoods was in the bottom 5 percent for income. In other words, they were poorer than 95 percent of U.S. families.

One result of the study was quite surprising. It turns out that teen boys from extremely poor neighborhoods are more likely to get into trouble if their neighborhood is surrounded by wealthier areas.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.1

Study Looks At "Extended Neighborhood"

The study was directed by social scientist Corina Graif. Instead of looking only at a teenager’s immediate neighborhood, the study also considered the surrounding areas — what Graif calls the “extended neighborhood.” It compared two sets of poor teens: those living in poor neighborhoods surrounded by other poor areas, and those living in poor areas next to wealthier middle-class areas.

Poor girls who lived in extremely poor neighborhoods, but whose extended neighborhoods included wealthier areas, had fewer friends in trouble. They were also more hopeful about their future. They believed more strongly in their ability to attend college and get a good job.

The opposite was true for boys.

When boys in extremely poor neighborhoods lived near middle-class areas, they fared worse by many measures. They had more drug-using friends and more psychological distress. Overall, they seem to have a harder time than poor boys who lived in extremely poor neighborhoods surrounded by other extremely poor neighborhoods.

More Contact With Police

The poor boys in the mixed extended neighborhoods were also more likely to have witnessed gang behavior, stabbings and shootings. Their lack of hope in the future and association with other teens who committed crimes caused them to have more contact with police. This was true regardless of the overall crime rates in the neighborhoods where they lived.

The study was based on interviews with nearly 1,600 poor teenagers who lived in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City between 1994 and 2002. Sixty-three percent were black.

Some of the teens' families took part in a government-funded experiment called Moving to Opportunity, which studied the effect of moving poor families to middle-class neighborhoods. The initial results from Moving to Opportunity were disappointing. Poor boys who moved remained poor into adulthood. They also were more likely to use drugs and get arrested than those who stayed in poor neighborhoods.

However, over the past year, a group of scholars has taken a second look at the program. Their conclusion is that moving from poor to middle-class neighborhoods can help children earn more money as adults. However, this is true only if the move happens before the child is 13 years old.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.2

"Opportunities That Other Kids Had"

Graif’s research sheds light on why older poor kids struggled after moving to better-off neighborhoods. “It could be that they started in a world where everybody around them was the same, and when they moved to this mixed environment, they saw all the opportunities that other kids had but they didn’t,” she said. “They felt excluded, and that created a sense of injustice.”

The same was true for teenagers who lived in poor areas surrounded by better off neighborhoods. Feelings of resentment can lead a teenager to engage in criminal activity or drug use, Graif suggested.

Police may also more closely monitor boys of color who live near white neighbors. In a separate 2011 study, four scholars interviewed teenagers who participated in Moving to Opportunity. The boys reported that new, white neighbors were more likely than previous, black neighbors to call the police. Roger, a 16-year-old boy in Chicago, said, “I was in the suburbs. There wasn’t nothing to do at all. Police always messing with you. Talking about you doing this, you’re doing that.”

In general, girls in poor neighborhoods have a less difficult experience than boys. Graif found that as they gained middle-class neighbors, girls had more friends who felt more positive about school and more hopeful about the future.

Mix Of Students At School Can Help

There are ways to minimize the risks for boys. Attending a school with a mix of poor and wealthier students can help poor children earn higher test scores and avoid crime. Unfortunately, poor kids of color generally remain clustered in separate minority-only schools even when middle-class whites live nearby. The key is to ensure that poor children of color have the same chance as any other kid to get into good neighborhood schools.

Graif's study also raises questions about where low-income housing should be located. For Graif, the lesson is that policymakers should consider not just the several blocks nearest to where a child lives, but also the larger area. “When both the immediate and the surrounding neighborhoods are improved, the surprising effects on boys' misbehaving disappears,” she said.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.3

Quiz

1 Which section of the article highlights reasons why poor boys may struggle when surrounded by wealthy neighborhoods?

(A) Introduction [paragraphs 1-4]

(B) "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood"

(C) "Opportunities That Other Kids Had"

(D) "Mix Of Students At School Can Help"

2 Which sentence from the article BEST explains one way to improve things for boys who live in poor neighborhoods?

(A) Graif found that as they gained middle-class neighbors, girls had more friends who felt more positive about school and more hopeful about the future.

(B) Attending a school with a mix of poor and wealthier students can help poor children earn higher test scores and avoid crime.

(C) Unfortunately, poor kids of color generally remain clustered in separate minority-only schools even when middle-class whites live nearby.

(D) Graif's study also raises questions about where low-income housing should be located.

3 Read the selection from the section "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood."

Instead of looking only at a teenager’s immediate neighborhood, the study also considered the surrounding areas — what Graif calls the “extended neighborhood.” It compared two sets of poor teens: those living in poor neighborhoods surrounded by other poor areas, and those living in poor areas next to wealthier middle-class areas.

What is meant by the word "immediate" as it is used in the selection?

(A) quick

(B) closest

(C) similar

(D) right away

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.4

4Read the paragraph from the section "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood."

When boys in extremely poor neighborhoods lived near middle-class areas, they fared worse by many measures. They had more drug-using friends and more psychological distress. Overall, they seem to have a harder time than poor boys who lived in extremely poor neighborhoods surrounded by other extremely poor neighborhoods.

Which sentence below uses the word "fare" in the SAME way as it is used above?

(A) Bus fares are much more reasonable than taxi fares.

(B) For his birthday he requested his standard fare of pizza and tacos.

(C) She hoped he was faring better on his math test today than last month.

(D) Everything playing in the movie theaters right now is typical Hollywood fare.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.5