Study sheds some light on how

neighborhoods affect poor teen boys

By The Marshall Project, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.16.16
Word Count 849

Wearing a red jacket, Devion Allen, an eighth-grader at Chopin Elementary School, walks home on a Safe Passage route
with friends in Chicago, Illinois, Nov. 6, 2013. Photo: AP Photo/Martha Irvine

It might seem obvious that kids who grow up in the poorest neighborhoods are the most
likely to get into trouble. After all, they live in areas with higher crime rates. They tend to
have few of the supports, like good schools, that might help them get ahead in life.

It turns out that may not be entirely true.

A new study looked at poor teenagers living in extremely poor neighborhoods. The
average family in these neighborhoods was in the bottom 5 percent for income. In other
words, they were poorer than 95 percent of U.S. families.

One result of the study was quite surprising. It turns out that teen boys from extremely poor
neighborhoods are more likely to get into trouble if their neighborhood is surrounded by
wealthier areas.
Study Looks At "Extended Neighborhood"

The study was directed by social scientist Corina Graif. Instead of looking only at a
teenagers immediate neighborhood, the study also considered the surrounding areas
what Graif calls the extended neighborhood. It compared two sets of poor teens: those
living in poor neighborhoods surrounded by other poor areas, and those living in poor
areas next to wealthier middle-class areas.

Poor girls who lived in extremely poor neighborhoods, but whose extended neighborhoods
included wealthier areas, had fewer friends in trouble. They were also more hopeful about
their future. They believed more strongly in their ability to attend college and get a good
job.

The opposite was true for boys.

When boys in extremely poor neighborhoods lived near middle-class areas, they fared
worse by many measures. They had more drug-using friends and more psychological
distress. Overall, they seem to have a harder time than poor boys who lived in extremely
poor neighborhoods surrounded by other extremely poor neighborhoods.

More Contact With Police

The poor boys in the mixed extended neighborhoods were also more likely to have
witnessed gang behavior, stabbings and shootings. Their lack of hope in the future and
association with other teens who committed crimes caused them to have more contact
with police. This was true regardless of the overall crime rates in the neighborhoods where
they lived.

The study was based on interviews with nearly 1,600 poor teenagers who lived in
Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City between 1994 and 2002.
Sixty-three percent were black.

Some of the teens' families took part in a government-funded experiment called Moving to
Opportunity, which studied the effect of moving poor families to middle-class
neighborhoods. The initial results from Moving to Opportunity were disappointing. Poor
boys who moved remained poor into adulthood. They also were more likely to use drugs
and get arrested than those who stayed in poor neighborhoods.

However, over the past year, a group of scholars has taken a second look at the program.
Their conclusion is that moving from poor to middle-class neighborhoods can help
children earn more money as adults. However, this is true only if the move happens before
the child is 13 years old.
"Opportunities That Other Kids Had"

Graifs research sheds light on why older poor kids struggled after moving to better-off
neighborhoods. It could be that they started in a world where everybody around them was
the same, and when they moved to this mixed environment, they saw all the opportunities
that other kids had but they didnt, she said. They felt excluded, and that created a sense
of injustice.

The same was true for teenagers who lived in poor areas surrounded by better off
neighborhoods. Feelings of resentment can lead a teenager to engage in criminal activity
or drug use, Graif suggested.

Police may also more closely monitor boys of color who live near white neighbors. In a
separate 2011 study, four scholars interviewed teenagers who participated in Moving to
Opportunity. The boys reported that new, white neighbors were more likely than previous,
black neighbors to call the police. Roger, a 16-year-old boy in Chicago, said, I was in the
suburbs. There wasnt nothing to do at all. Police always messing with you. Talking about
you doing this, youre doing that.

In general, girls in poor neighborhoods have a less difcult experience than boys. Graif
found that as they gained middle-class neighbors, girls had more friends who felt more
positive about school and more hopeful about the future.

Mix Of Students At School Can Help

There are ways to minimize the risks for boys. Attending a school with a mix of poor and
wealthier students can help poor children earn higher test scores and avoid crime.
Unfortunately, poor kids of color generally remain clustered in separate minority-only
schools even when middle-class whites live nearby. The key is to ensure that poor children
of color have the same chance as any other kid to get into good neighborhood schools.

Graif's study also raises questions about where low-income housing should be located.
For Graif, the lesson is that policymakers should consider not just the several blocks
nearest to where a child lives, but also the larger area. When both the immediate and the
surrounding neighborhoods are improved, the surprising effects on boys' misbehaving
disappears, she said.
Quiz

1 Which section of the article highlights reasons why poor boys may struggle when surrounded
by wealthy neighborhoods?

(A) Introduction [paragraphs 1-4]

(B) "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood"

(C) "Opportunities That Other Kids Had"

(D) "Mix Of Students At School Can Help"

2 Which sentence from the article BEST explains one way to improve things for boys who live in
poor neighborhoods?

(A) Graif found that as they gained middle-class neighbors, girls had more
friends who felt more positive about school and more hopeful about the
future.

(B) Attending a school with a mix of poor and wealthier students can help poor
children earn higher test scores and avoid crime.

(C) Unfortunately, poor kids of color generally remain clustered in separate

minority-only schools even when middle-class whites live nearby.

(D) Graif's study also raises questions about where low-income housing should
be located.

3 Read the selection from the section "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood."

Instead of looking only at a teenagers immediate neighborhood, the

study also considered the surrounding areas what Graif calls the
extended neighborhood. It compared two sets of poor teens: those
living in poor neighborhoods surrounded by other poor areas, and
those living in poor areas next to wealthier middle-class areas.

What is meant by the word "immediate" as it is used in the selection?

(A) quick

(B) closest

(C) similar

(D) right away

4 Read the paragraph from the section "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood."

When boys in extremely poor neighborhoods lived near middle-class

areas, they fared worse by many measures. They had more drug-
using friends and more psychological distress. Overall, they seem to
have a harder time than poor boys who lived in extremely poor
neighborhoods surrounded by other extremely poor neighborhoods.

Which sentence below uses the word "fare" in the SAME way as it is used above?

(A) Bus fares are much more reasonable than taxi fares.

(B) For his birthday he requested his standard fare of pizza and tacos.

(C) She hoped he was faring better on his math test today than last month.

(D) Everything playing in the movie theaters right now is typical Hollywood fare.
Answer Key

1 Which section of the article highlights reasons why poor boys may struggle when surrounded
by wealthy neighborhoods?

(A) Introduction [paragraphs 1-4]

(B) "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood"

(C) "Opportunities That Other Kids Had"

(D) "Mix Of Students At School Can Help"

2 Which sentence from the article BEST explains one way to improve things for boys who live in
poor neighborhoods?

(A) Graif found that as they gained middle-class neighbors, girls had more
friends who felt more positive about school and more hopeful about the
future.

(B) Attending a school with a mix of poor and wealthier students can help
poor children earn higher test scores and avoid crime.

(C) Unfortunately, poor kids of color generally remain clustered in separate

minority-only schools even when middle-class whites live nearby.

(D) Graif's study also raises questions about where low-income housing should
be located.

3 Read the selection from the section "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood."

Instead of looking only at a teenagers immediate neighborhood, the

study also considered the surrounding areas what Graif calls the
extended neighborhood. It compared two sets of poor teens: those
living in poor neighborhoods surrounded by other poor areas, and
those living in poor areas next to wealthier middle-class areas.

What is meant by the word "immediate" as it is used in the selection?

(A) quick

(B) closest

(C) similar

(D) right away

4 Read the paragraph from the section "Study Looks At Extended Neighborhood."

When boys in extremely poor neighborhoods lived near middle-class

areas, they fared worse by many measures. They had more drug-
using friends and more psychological distress. Overall, they seem to
have a harder time than poor boys who lived in extremely poor
neighborhoods surrounded by other extremely poor neighborhoods.

Which sentence below uses the word "fare" in the SAME way as it is used above?

(A) Bus fares are much more reasonable than taxi fares.

(B) For his birthday he requested his standard fare of pizza and tacos.

(C) She hoped he was faring better on his math test today than last month.

(D) Everything playing in the movie theaters right now is typical Hollywood fare.