The Determinants of Adolescent Neighborhood Satisfaction: Assessing the Importance of School Satisfaction

Abstract

As traditional neighborhood institutions, public schools can have significant influence on adolescent neighborhood satisfaction. Scholars have argued, however, that various phenomena have detached schools from their local communities, likely lessening their influence on satisfaction levels. Using data on a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents, the present study identifies the determinants of adolescent neighborhood satisfaction with a particular focus on the influence of schools. The study finds that school satisfaction influences neighborhood satisfaction above and beyond neighborhood characteristics, individual well–being, and parental influences. The results also indicate that distance between the school and residence, the percent of married families in the local neighborhood, and perceptions of school safety moderate the relationship between school and neighborhood satisfaction. The study also finds that the effects of the neighborhood environment vary by geographic scale, suggesting the need to account for varying definitions of neighborhood rather than relying on a single measure.