Philadelphia Family Management Study, 1991-2001

Of special interest to the research team was the question of whether families alter their children's life chances by successfully adapting their parenting styles to the dangerous and restrictive conditions of living in the inner city. Also, this study addresses how the social organization of the neighborhood - or the absence of organization - leads parents to adopt different techniques of managing their children during adolescence.

A sample of 489 children between the ages of 11 and 14 and their parents were interviewed. The families lived in predominately White or African American poor and working-class neighborhoods in Philadelphia. The interviews consisted of a wide range of topics including perceptions of community, parental strategies for managing risks and opportunities, and measures from both parents and children of how the youth were faring.