Staying out of trouble: Community resources and problem behavior among high-risk adolescents

This research considers how community resources affect adolescent risk-taki ng attitudes and problem behavior. Data from the 1990 United States Census and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Merged Mother-Child file s are merged to form a sample of 860 adolescents age 14 to 18 in 1994. Amon g these high-risk adolescents, selected community resources have significan t associations with adolescent outcomes. Residential stability decreases bo th adolescent risk-taking attitudes and aggressive behavior, regardless of the level of disadvantage present within the community. Higher quality scho ols, as perceived by mothers, are environments in which adolescents are les s likely to get into trouble, even controlling for attributes of the adoles cent's family situation.