Neighborhood Condition Effects on Latina/O Student Attendance and Participation in Afterschool Activities

Abstract

This study examined how parents’ perception of neighborhood conditions are associated with school absenteeism and participation in afterschool activities, and how social support networks moderate those linkages among two-parent and single-parent families. Data from the second and third Waves of the Making Connections Survey were analyzed. A subsample of 1,053 Latina/o parents with 10–17-year-old children was examined. Longitudinal path analyses suggest an indirect positive association between neighborhood control and participation in organized afterschool activities via instrumental social support, but only among two-parent families. Neighborhood cohesion was associated with school days missed and participation in organized afterschool activities among single-parent families. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.