Community Contexts

Abstract

This article discusses the importance of considering communities to be important social contexts for working families. The Nurturing Families Study gathered data from 357 working parents and their children in Grades 6 to 8 who lived in six different U.S. communities. The study protocols included items that measured parents'subjective assessments of important social contexts, including families' communities of residence. Data were collected about parents' perceptions of programs and services in their communities, neighborhood relationships, family-supportive community policies, community values that welcome diverse families, and overall satisfaction with neighborhoods and communities. Analysis of data collected about parents'subjective assessments of their neighborhoods and communities indicate relationships between parents' assessments of different dimensions of their communities and important work-family outcome measures, such as general family functioning and life satisfaction.