The moderating role of behavioral self-regulation in relations between neighborhood connection and adolescents' positive adjustment
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The current study directly and longitudinally tested relational-developmental systems theories by analyzing whether neighborhood connection facilitates school engagement, self-esteem, and prosocial behavior depending on adolescents' behavioral self-regulation. Participants included 500 U.S. adolescents age 12 at Time 1 and age 16 at Time 2 (67.2% White; 77% from two-parent households; 119,000 USD average household income). Neighborhood connection at age 12 predicted self-esteem at age 16 for adolescents who reported low behavioral self-regulation at age 12. Behavioral self-regulation did not moderate relations between neighborhood connection and self-esteem for those who reported moderate to high behavioral self-regulation. Behavioral self-regulation did not moderate relations between neighborhood connection and prosocial behavior or school engagement. Aligned with relation-developmental systems theories, neighborhood connection facilitated positive personal adjustment among adolescents at-risk due to low behavioral self-regulation. I contextualize my findings within the extant literature, discuss the present study's limitations, and suggest directions for future research.
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Ph. D.