Relations among neighborhood social networks, home literacy environments, and children’s expressive vocabulary in suburban at-risk families

Abstract

In response to increasing research and policy interest in the neighborhood context of early school success, this study examined relations among neighborhood social networks, home literacy practices/resources, and children’s expressive vocabulary in a suburban at-risk sample in the USA at the beginning of the school year. In a Structural Equation Model, neighborhood social networks predicted home literacy, which in turn predicted expressive vocabulary. The indirect effect of neighborhood social networks on expressive vocabulary was also significant. Implications for future research and preventive interventions concerning the role of neighborhoods in enhancing family reading behavior and the early literacy of at-risk preschool children are discussed.