Study looks at impact of neighborhood, family environments on Latino youth violence
Research has shown that youth violence is a major
cause of injury and death among Latinos. However, there is little
understanding of violent behaviors of youths within various Latino
ethnic subgroups such as Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Mexicans. Lorena
Estrada-Martínez, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at
Washington University in St. Louis, recently examined how family
dynamics and neighborhood racial/ethnic composition and socioeconomic
status (SES) impact youth violence among Latino subgroups. “Higher
levels of youth independence can reduce the risk of violence in
primarily Latino neighborhoods,” Estrada-Martinez says.
New index measures financial stability
What does it take for a family in the U.S. to have long-term economic security and not just “get by”? This question inspired the creation of the Basic Economic Security Tables Index (BEST), a joint effort of Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) and the Center for Social Development (CSD) at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. The BEST is different from other ‘living wage’ indexes in that it aims to capture what is needed for household stability and development rather than focusing on subsistence. Findings suggest that families’ largest economic security challenges are rent and utilities, transportation, and childcare. The report calls the high cost of quality childcare “the greatest threat to many families’ security.” Childcare is so expensive that income needs for a one-parent family with two preschoolers are equivalent to those of a one-parent family with five teenagers.