Resumen de In the face of a dangerous community: the effects of social support and neighborhood danger on high school students' school outcomes

Lawrence B. Rosenfeld, Jack M. Richman, Gary L. Bowen, Scarlet Wynns

• The purpose of this investigation was to assess the effects of social support and exposure to community violence (i.e., the extent to which students perceive danger in the neighborhood, and the extent to which they personally experience neighborhood crime and violence either directly or indirectly) on high school students' school behavior, school affect, and grades. Results indicated that neighborhood danger, especially when experienced personally, had an important negative influence on high school students' attendance, trouble avoidance, and school satisfaction, and less influence on their grades. The usefulness of social support in moderating this influence varied depending on the particular school outcome of interest: it had its greatest moderating influence on school satisfaction and grades, and it was less influential on the outcomes of attendance and trouble avoidance. Results of analyses using structural equation modeling showed social support having both a direct effect on each school outcome and serving as a moderating variable through students' personally experienced neighborhood danger.