“Does It Take a Village?” Assessing Neighborhood Influences on Children’s Self-Control

Abstract

Although individuals low in self-control are more likely to engage in antisocial and criminal behavior, few studies have investigated its sources. Gottfredson and Hirschi argue that primary caregivers are largely responsible, whereas Wikstr歠and Sampson contend that self-control is partially a function of neighborhood context. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, the authors assessed neighborhood effects on children's self-control. They found significant variation in self-control between neighborhoods, but it accounted for a small amount of the total variance. In the initial model, neighborhood structural characteristics had direct effects on self-control, but after taking into account individual-level characteristics, they became nonsignificant. Furthermore, parenting variables exhibited significant and consistent effects on self-control. The authors consider the theoretical implications of the findings, address limitations, and provide suggestions for future research.