Durable effects of concentrated disadvantage on verbal ability among African-American children.

ABSTRACT: Disparities in verbal ability, a major predictor of later life outcomes, have generated widespread debate, but few studies have been able to isolate neighborhood-level causes in a developmentally and ecologically appropriate way. This study presents longitudinal evidence from a large-scale study of >2,000 children ages 6-12 living in Chicago, along with their caretakers, who were followed wherever they moved in the U.S. for up to 7 years. African-American children are exposed in such disproportionate numbers to concentrated disadvantage that white and Latino children cannot be reliably compared, calling into question traditional research strategies assuming common points of overlap in ecological risk. We therefore focus on trajectories of verbal ability among African-American children, ext

SUBMITTER: Sampson RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2242679 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature