Adolescents in Public Housing is an important contribution to our understanding of neighborhood effects and, more specifically, the contextual issues for a large number of African American youth living in public housing. This is an important area of study for a vulnerable population of young people and families.
— Elizabeth Anthony, associate professor, School of Social Work, Arizona State University

Most public-housing research is deficit based. It looks at ways to decrease crime by destroying dwellings, not by promoting community strength. In contrast, this book purposefully analyzes and incorporates community context to advance a strengths-based approach to intervention with troubled youth. The environmental systems on which it draws are extensive (family, community, and neighborhood), and their influence on both the positive and negative aspects of adolescent mental health are analyzed in depth. The book is original and will contribute to the literature in the field.
— Elizabeth Danto, professor of social work emeritus, Hunter College

Von E. Nebbitt is an associate professor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research focuses on mental health symptoms and health-risk behavior among African American adolescents living in urban public-housing developments. Dr. Nebbitt's work also assesses the protective effects of self-efficacy, parental monitoring, and social cohesion, which promote resilient functioning among youth living in urban public housing.

Acknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
Part I: Theoretical Underpinnings and Methodology
1. Introduction: Context Matters
2. A Framework for Inquiry Into Neighborhood-Institutional Relationships Related to Public Housing and Adolescent Development, with Odis Johnson Jr.
3. An Integrated Model of Adolescent development in Public Housing Neighborhoods, With Kathy Sanders-Phillips and Lisa R. Rawlings
Part II: Empirical Section
4. Methodology and Procedures, with Taqi M. Tirmazi and Tarek Zidan
5. Modeling Latent Profiles of Efficacious Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Deviance, with Ajita M. Robinson
6. The Social Ecology of Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Use, with Michael G. Vaughn, Margaret Lombe, and Stephen Tripodi
7. Explaining the Relationship Between Neighborhood Risk and Adolescent Health-Risk Behaviors: A Focus on Adolescent Depressive Symptoms, with Sharon F. Lambert and Crystal L. Barksdale
8. Risk and Protective factors of Depressive Symptoms, with Margaret Lombe and Von E. Nebbitt
Part III: Implications and Applications
9. Implications to Practice and Service Use, with Theda Rose and Michael Lindsey
10. A New Direction for Public Housing: The Implications for Adolescent Well-Being, with Carol S. Collard
11. Summary and Conclusion: The Challenges of Public Housing Environments for Youth, with James Herbert Williams, Christopher A. Veeh, and David B. Miller
Contributors
References
Index