Neighborhood experiences, community connection, and positive beliefs about adolescents among urban adults and youth

Adults have become increasingly isolated from adolescents in their communities, and this condition contributes to negative stereotypes about teens. Integrating research‐ and practice‐based knowledge, a theoretical model was constructed to predict positive beliefs about adolescents, specifically the extent to which adults and adolescents believe that teens are motivated and competent to act on behalf of their neighborhoods. The model includes two pathways to positive beliefs about adolescents. It was hypothesized that the experience of volunteering, and residing in a neighborhood that is perceived as safe and having adequate resources, would be associated with positive beliefs about adolescents. It was further predicted that community connectedness, as assessed by individuals' sense of community and perceived norm of adult caring, would mediate these associations. The hypotheses were tested through analysis of phone interviews with adults and adolescents from a large northeastern city. The model received consistent, albeit not complete, support between both samples. Results indicate that an understanding of beliefs about teens lies, in significant part, in the neighborhood experiences of adults and adolescents and in their sense of connectedness with the places in which they live. Implications for further research in this emerging area of inquiry are identified. While community‐driven research poses methodological challenges, this inquiry also illustrates the theoretical and practical utility of grounding study hypotheses, in part, on the causal relationships that have been observed by practitioners in neighborhood settings. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.