Abstract
This study assessed the relationship between residential density and two types of child maltreatment, abuse and neglect, by using aggregate data to test two models of density effects: (a) density as an intervening variable, and (b) density as a spurious relation. To test the models, child abuse and child neglect reporting rates for 202 Baltimore, Maryland census tracts were regressed on census tract population characteristics measuring class, ethnicity, and residential density. Results are inconclusive for density measured as percent of households with 1.01 or more persons/room because of a high degree of collinearity between density and structural variables. Results for density measured as 1.51 or more persons/room support the density as an intervening variable model. Considering that Baltimore, Maryland's household crowding rate is very close to that of the rather low U.S. average, findings suggest that despite improvements in residential density over the last 30 years, crowding still negatively impacts on some families.
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Preparation of this article was supported in part by National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect Grant Award 90-CA-922/01 to Susan Zuravin.
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Zuravin, S.J. Residential density and urban child maltreatment: An aggregate analysis. J Fam Viol 1, 307–322 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00978275
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00978275