Three field studies compared helping behavior across a sample of 24 small, medium and large cities across the United States. The relationship of helping to statistics reflecting the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of these communities was then examined. The strongest predictors of city differences in helping were population size,…

Using data from adults age 65 and older in the District of Columbia and two adjoining counties in Maryland, we examine the association between community-level structural disadvantage and individuals' subjective assessments of neighborhood problems. In addition, we test whether or not perceptions of relative financial equality or inequality with…

This study explores how neighborhood context influences participation in local social organization through a multilevel-spatial analysis of residents in Chicago neighborhoods. We construct a typology of community participation based on two dimensions: instrumental vs. expressive motivations for participation and formal vs. informal modes of…

The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of "municipal overburden", the way it has been operationalized by some states, and its relationship to school district fiscal capacity. (Author)

Shifts the focus of poverty theory from individual characteristics to a more structural, community level. Defines and tests a measurement model of a structural conceptualization of poverty by applying confirmatory factor analysis to data on 5 poverty indicators from 881 nonadjacent nonmetropolitan counties. Contains 69 references. (SV)

A number of models have been proposed to explain the relationship between family structure and adolescent problem behaviors, including several that consider parent-child relations, family income, stress, and residential mobility. However, studies have not explored whether the different types of communities within which families reside affect the…

Investigates a view of multiculturalism that could help analyze problems regarding governance in socially excluded neighborhoods, summarizing results from previous research on social dynamics in socially excluded neighborhoods. Uses Parekh's theory of multiculturalism to outline the major components of a multicultural perspective, suggesting that…

A range of hypotheses of varying specificity is examined in this paper in an attempt to account for the location of racial disorders. The initial sections consider what general assumptions must be met by any satisfactory explanation of the distribution of disorders. Mathematical models are constructed which embody the most prevalent assumptions as…

Investigated whether living in a deprived area compounded residents' disadvantaged status and whether area effects contributed to social exclusion. Data from surveys conducted in deprived and socially mixed neighborhoods indicated that both structure and agency were important in influencing neighborhood problems, though living in areas of…

Wilson (1987) and others argue that poor neighborhoods lack important organizational resources the middle class takes for granted, such as childcare centers, grocery stores and pharmacies. However, this approach does not distinguish poor neighborhoods from segregated neighborhoods, ignores immigration and neglects city differences. Using…

As the incomes of affluent and poor families have diverged over the past three decades, so too has the educational performance of their children. But how exactly do the forces of rising inequality affect the educational attainment and life chances of low-income children? In "Whither Opportunity?" a distinguished team of economists,…

Discriminant validity of a measure of children's readiness for school was assessed by testing whether it distinguished between groups of children hypothesized to differ, on the basis of demographic characteristics, in their school readiness. The volunteer sample consisted of 3,370 kindergartners in Vermont public schools. Previous group care…

An informal survey of administrative personnel at six community colleges in North Carolina elicited perceptions of the characteristics of the Southern Appalachian people, their socioeconomic condition, their cultural influences, and the importance of community college accessibility and transportation. Implications for community college governance…

This study used data from a random sample of African American families living in poor urban communities to examine: how well socialization, supervision, and marital transition hypotheses explained the relationship between family structure and the probability of sexual debut and pregnancy for African American adolescents in disadvantaged…