Gender Differences of Neighborhood and Social Control Processes

Abstract

This study examines the gender-specific contextual and individual socioeconomic predictors of the timing of first intercourse among low-achieving African American youth. Following financial deprivation and collective socialization theories, the authors test separate models for males and females and include neighborhood poverty and race composition, family social class position, and social control mechanisms such as family structure, parental involvement, and prosocial activities as predictors. The sample comprises 558 African American high school students followed over a 3-year period. For young women, the significant predictors are age, mother's education, time with mother, and involvement in church activities. For young men, the significant factors are school achievement, an interaction between living in an two-parent family and time with father, participation in family decision making, and neighborhood poverty level. Thus, males and females are differently affected by social control processes and neighborhood poverty plays a significant role in young African American men's sexual behaviors.