This study focuses on intergenerational continuity in violent partner relationships. We investigate whether exposure to caregiver intimate partner violence (IPV) during adolescence leads to increased involvement in IPV during early adulthood (age 21-23) and adulthood (age 29-31). We also investigate whether this relationship differs by gender.…

Background: Youth living in poverty face compounding familial and environmental was challenges in utilizing effective community mental health services. Ongoing stressors increase their drop-out rate in mental health service use. Difficulties also exist in staying engaged in services when involved with the child welfare system. This study examines…

This paper describes preliminary results from a study at the Crisis Control Ministry, a poverty relief organization in Winston-Salem (North Carolina). The intent of the study was to explore the nature of and influences on contemporary urban poverty by having the investigator serve as a volunteer interviewer at the Crisis Control Ministry. Another…

This report focuses on young mothers who had children as teenagers, who had dropped out of high school, and who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. It was a voluntary demonstration project that provided comprehensive education, training, and other services intended to increase the long-term self-sufficiency and well-being of…

Many graduates who have the academic ability to continue their schooling beyond high school do not enroll in higher education. This phenomenon has been referred to as "talent loss." The challenges involved in financing higher education partially contribute to talent loss and its pervasiveness among poor students, but they fall short of…

The consequences and correlates of growing up poor as well as the mechanisms through which poverty influences children are explored. This book is organized with a primary focus on research findings and a secondary concern with policy implications. The chapters are: (1) "Poor Families, Poor Outcomes: The Well-Being of Children and Youth" (Jeanne…

A study was conducted to determine some of the problems and characteristics of low socioeconomic status (SES) parents who have children with low science achievement scores relative to parents of higher achievers. Sixteen low-achievement seventh graders in an urban school and 16 high-achievement students participated, along with their mothers.…

Drawing from national and city-based sources, Volume 1 reports the empirical evidence concerning the relationship between children and community. The chapters are: (1) "Neighborhoods and Communities as Contexts for Development" (Martha A. Gephart); (2) "Development in Context: Implications for Studying Neighborhood Effects" (J. Lawrence Aber,…

In 1997, the Institute for Children and Poverty of Homes for the Homeless joined with more than 58 organizations from 10 cities across the country to develop a national snapshot of family homelessness in the United States. Nearly 800 families were surveyed. This report presents the results of this research. The typical homeless family in the…

This paper focuses on the experiences of Salvadoran refugees who fled their country in the 1980s and came to the United States seeking political asylum during the Salvadoran civil war. The increased number of Salvadoran students in the school districts of Northern Virginia (the Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area), where more than 200,000…

In response to the increasing numbers of homeless families, Homes for the Homeless surveyed families in emergency shelters in Newark (New Jersey) to gain some insights into the characteristics and circumstances of urban homeless families. Newark was chosen because it is a large urban center with a high concentration of welfare recipients that is…

Volume 2 of the "Neighborhood Poverty" series incorporates empirical data on neighborhood poverty into discussions of policy and program development. The chapters are: (1) "Ecological Perspectives on the Neighborhood Context of Urban Poverty: Past and Present" (Robert J. Sampson and Jeffrey D. Morenoff); (2) "The Influence of Neighborhoods on…

This study of the educational attainments of students living in poverty was conducted in response to a resolution of the Virginia State Senate. Census counts of persons living below the poverty level, counts of students enrolled in free lunch programs, test scores, and two previous analyses of the achievement of Virginia students were used in the…