School based health centers (SBHCs) are often at the front line of medical and mental health services for students in the schools they serve. Citywide school closures in New York City in March 2020 and ongoing social distancing procedures resulted in significant changes in SBHC services as well as access to these services. Furthermore, the…

How can high-quality arts programs attract and retain low-income urban tweens? Drawing on hundreds of interviews with young people, their families, leaders of exemplary programs and others nationwide, this report offers some answers, including 10 principles for developing effective programming. An infographic illustrating key findings, a report…

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) shows a civic knowledge gap similar to the achievement gap, showing urban youth struggling in particular. However, research has shown that urban youth can be civically engaged when they are involved in projects or organizing intended to improve community conditions, not simply absorbing civic…

This short-term longitudinal study investigated the simultaneous influences of adults' (mothers and teachers) educational expectations and youth's achievement (standardized test scores and teachers' ratings of academic performance) across a 3-year time span on youth's performance in school (GPA). Participants were an ethnically diverse sample of…

This study used self-report symptom inventories administered in school classrooms to examine relations among gender, psychological symptoms, stress, and coping in 1,200 low-income African American urban early adolescents. Girls reported more symptoms than boys, accounted for by higher internalizing symptoms. Boys reported more stress than girls,…

Studied rates of somatic complaints and the association between stress and somatic complaints for 1,030 low-income urban adolescents in grades 6 through 8. For both boys and girls, somatization was the most commonly reported internalizing symptom, and heightened rates of urban stress predicted heightened rates of somatic complaints. (SLD)

A study was conducted to develop a theoretically and statistically sound measure of neighborhood affiliation for use with low-income urban youth. The aim was to develop a measure that can be used in future studies to predict community violence exposure among adolescents from inner-city neighborhoods. Participants were 167 adolescents from a public…

Using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, analyzes how educational aspirations are formed and maintained from 8th to 12th grades. Results suggest that family socioeconomic status contributes to ambitious aspirations in grade eight and to the maintenance of high aspirations for minorities and low-income students. (SLD)

A longitudinal study of urban (Baltimore) black teenage mothers and their welfare experiences following the birth of their first child was started in the 1960s by Frank Furstenberg and has continued for more than 20 years. Information was gathered from 3 generations of the families of 300 women. Most of the school-aged mothers were not married at…

Focuses on recent studies that explore the relationships between poverty and child outcomes in depth. Overall, this research supports the conclusion that family income has selective, but sometimes quite substantial, effects on child and adolescent well-being. Implications for interventions during childhood are discussed. (SLD)

We examined the association of adolescent obesity with participation in sports among 5489 low-income, inner city public high school students. Among inner city youth 28.5% of males and 33.7% of females were overweight and 15.9% of boys and 16.4% of girls were obese. For both males and females, participation in an increasing number of athletic…

Discusses the reasons why many poor, urban Black adolescents intentionally have children despite the debilitating life consequences. Emphasizes a family pattern in which early parenthood is repeated from generation to generation. (FMW)

Qualitative research with 127 low-income young men and women, aged 14 to 30, in Rio de Janeiro found rigid gender roles with males displaying widespread "machista" attitudes (an exaggerated deep structure of masculinity) and acceptance of violence against women that was greater in low-income urban areas. Implications for working with…

There are effective conflict transformation programs available for students at the middle level. What is missing is a program designed to have an enduring message, that is, a message that is both positive and vivid. Project WIN provided a positive message by teaching students how to create a justice-based community in their classrooms and the…

Atkins, Graczyk, Frazier, and Abdul-Adil (2003) make the point that there have been three limitations of mental health services for children and families in low-income, urban settings: (a) accessibility; (b) effectiveness; and (c) sustainability. Their article focuses extensively on improving access and addressing issues of sustainability in…