Learning the neighborhood
MAIN STREET Does a neighborhood besieged by drug dealers affect a child’s ability to get hooked on phonics?
Possibly. A current RAND Corporation study is examining certain Los Angeles County neighborhoods to determine whether or not socio-economic status plays a role in learning ability.
The $12 million study — a joint venture between RAND Corporation, a non-profit policy think-tank located on Main Street, and the UCLA School of Public Health — has kicked off its second phase, whereby researchers are headed back to the 65 or so neighborhoods where they interviewed families a few years ago. Some of the communities are located on the Westside, but RAND researcher Narayan Sastry would not name any specific neighborhoods nor the cities in which they are located.
“It’s important that they stay anonymous and that we provide information for the county as a whole,” said Sastry, who is directing the study along with Ann Pebley of RAND and UCLA.
Previous studies examining the relationship between neighborhoods, family and child development typically took place in other parts of the country. Relatively little is known about such relationships in Los Angeles and Southern California.
“Much of what we know about how neighborhoods affect the well-being of kids and adults comes from studies done in cities on the East Coast and in the Midwest,”Sastry said. “But Los Angeles represents how the nation has changed, with large numbers of immigrants and a mobile population.
“It’s important to see if lessons from the past and from other parts of the country are valid in today’s growing urban areas in the West.”
In the first phase of the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, which began in 2000, researchers interviewed about 3,000 families, evaluating how income and neighborhood affected school-readiness for children, whether health insurance existed among immigrants, and how other socioeconomic factors affected behaviors among adolescents.
RAND claims the study was the first real look at the number of illegal immigrants who have health insurance in LA County.
The first phase of the study suggested that neighborhood economics might play a role in the child’s ability to succeed. Growing up in a poor neighborhood might have more of an effect on learning ability than growing up in a poor family, the study states.
“We found that the neighborhood seemed to matter over and above family influences,” Sastry said.
In the second phase, which is expected to wrap up by early 2008, researchers hope to interview 1,000 new families and touch base with the families who still live in the neighborhoods covered in the first phase. These new families will be asked the basics about their neighborhoods and whether they have health insurance.
The key difference in the second phase will be its focus on health factors. Researchers will check height and weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and the level of stress hormones of the participants.
“We’ll be able to answer questions about how healthy people are in Los Angeles, in relationship with the neighborhood factor,” Sastry said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 27, 2007. Read the original PDF.