Mothers and mastery: The consequences of perceived neighborhood disorder

Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of mothers, we specify the conditions under which the neighborhood context shapes the experience of mastery. In so doing, we extend the work of others who have shown that neighborhood perceptions influence one sense of personal control over and above the effects of sociodemographic and objective neighborhood characteristics. Specifically, we demonstrate that the benefits to mastery generally afforded to mothers through marital status, household income, physical health, and living in a higher-income neighborhood are diluted by perceptions of neighborhood disorder. These findings suggest the importance of including measures of proximal experiences when attempting to link objective components of social structure with individual and family-level outcomes. Providing further support for the emphasis placed on these proximate mechanisms by the social structure and personality framework, our analyses indicate that failing to consider negative community perceptions suppresses the significant impact that central city, residence and race have on mothers' sense of personal control.