Supportive Neighborhoods
To assess whether or not families and children were supported in their neighborhoods, parents were asked whether they agreed with the following statements:
- People in the neighborhood help each other out.
- We watch out for each other’s children.
- There are people I can count on in the neighborhood.
- If my child were outside playing and got hurt or scared, there are adults nearby whom I trust to help my child.
Families were considered to live in supportive neighborhoods if they answered "definitely agree" or "somewhat agree" to each of the four statements. Overall, parents of 83.2 percent of children reported that they live in supportive neighborhoods. This percentage was slightly higher (85.1 percent) in both small and large rural areas.
The discrepancy between urban and rural communities is greatest among children in lower-income households. Among rural children with household incomes below the Federal poverty level (FPL), approximately three-quarters lived in supportive neighborhoods, compared to 69.4 percent of urban children of the same income level. Among children with household incomes of 400 percent of the FPL or more, however, at least 91 percent lived in supportive neighborhoods regardless of location.
