From a spatially oriented strengths perspective

Research investigating neighborhood effects on children and families has been largely deficit and individual-focused, investigated structural variables, and has typically produced equivocal findings and small effect sizes. We suggest an approach focused on community strengths and resources that stresses the role of measures of social interaction variables and the utilization of analytic strategies that model the spatial and nested nature of contextual effects. To that end, we offer a community resilience model that includes both community-level risk and protective factors, and suggests sources to obtain community-level strengths data. We also provide