| AIMS: This study investigated the longitudinal effects of internal and external housing quality problems on child mental health outcomes, as measured by child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The study also aimed to elucidate the mechanisms through which housing quality problems affect child mental health by testing the mediating effects of parenting style and child self-efficacy. METHODS: We examined these questions across three separate studies, using publicly available longitudinal data collected at three study waves between 1994 and 2002 as part of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) study. We used hierarchical linear modeling methods to account for the multilevel structure of the data and study design, in which time, child variables, and neighborhood context were treated as three separate levels of data. We controlled for demographic variables including cohort age, race/ethnicity, gender, and household SES. RESULTS: Internal and external housing quality problems were associated with higher levels of child externalizing behavior problems (EBP) over time through direct and indirect routes. There was an interaction effect between external housing quality problems (EHQP) and race/ethnicity of the child in predicting levels of child EBP. Neither internal nor external housing quality problems were associated with child internalizing behavior problems (IBP) over time. We found a mediating effect of parenting harshness on the link between internal housing quality problems (IHQP) and child EBP. Child self-efficacy also partially mediated the relationships between IHQP/EHQP and child EBP, after controlling for demographic and parental variables. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that housing quality problems may have significant direct and indirect effects on increased child externalizing problems over time, but not on child internalizing problems. Policy and clinical implications of the findings, suggestions for future research, and limitations of the study are discussed. |
