Exploring the Relationship Between Child Opportunity and Violent Crime Rates in West Virginia Counties

Brent D. Mast
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Tricia Ruiz
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The relationship between childhood development and neighborhood quality has important implications in terms of physical and behavioral well-being and long-term socioeconomic outcomes (Acevedo-Garcia et al., 2020; Chetty et al., 2018). One aspect of neighborhood quality can be measured with crime rates. Exposure to violent crime has been associated with child health across multiple dimensions, such as chronic physical conditions, developmental disorders, and mental health (American Public Health Association, 2018; Jackson, Posick, and Vaughn, 2019). Violent crime is known to have geographically concentrated patterns, and exposure to violent crime affects the health of victims, their families, and their communities (Sackett, 2016).