The role of social capital on children's behavior in the context of maternal depression and neighborhood poverty

A most fundamental function of family is the parenting process, which demonstrates how parents socialize their children. A child's processes of growing as a member of society are specified by parenting practices in daily life. Parents experiencing psychological disorder or poverty are likely to be more involved in conflictual interactions with their children, thus occasioning less satisfactory social development of those children.;This study's purpose is to examine the paths for household income and child behavior problems among categorized groups, based on neighborhood poverty and a mother's depression level, by exploring the operating mediators for each group. This study examines how these operating mediators are moderated by a mother's depression and by neighborhood poverty, by comparing the groups. Last, this study provides policy and clinical implications that can improve a child's psychological well-being.;Drawing on social capital theory, this study examines the connection between household income and child's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in the context of mother's depression and neighborhood poverty. Emotional interactions and discipline responses with mother-child from family social capital, and social cohesion and interaction with neighborhoods from neighborhood social capital, are employed to determine their mediating effect on a child's behavior problems.;The study utilizes the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) and secondary data analysis to describe and make inferences about hypothesized relationships. Methods describing the primary analytical technique of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with multiple groups and complex samples are used for the study.;Results demonstrate that there are mediation effects of discipline responses, emotional interaction and social cohesion between household income and child's behavior problems for multiple groups, supporting the hypotheses for mediation effects. However, there is no statistical significance of moderation effects by comparing multiple groups, despite the significance of meditation effects across groups.;Findings imply that negative parenting attitudes are associated with increasing a child's overall behavior problems, including anxiety, depression, dependence, peer conflicts, hyperactivity, stubbornness, and antisocial conduct. In addition, as important assets for a deprived neighborhood, social cohesion and mutual trust may have a protective effect on child problematic behavior. Policymakers should provide intervention programs addressing the need for increasing neighborhood social capital as resources for families residing in poor neighborhoods. Additionally, clinical intervention should be considered through a cooperative approach between family and neighborhood, so as to establish both healthy families and better neighborhoods.