PERCEPTIONS OF DANGER - A PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDIATOR OF NEIGHBORHOOD DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Associations between neighborhood characteristics and adjustment of 16 8 urban fifth-grade children were explored. High neighborhood risk was associated with parent and teacher reports of child misconduct, and w ith parent and child reports of child psychological distress, while ch ild and parent perceptions of neighborhood dangers appeared to mediate these associations. Specific neighborhood aspects were also related t o child adjustment: higher violent crime rates with higher child misco nduct rates, and lower neighborhood incomes with greater child psychol ogical distress. Implications for research and intervention are discus sed.