A test of competing models of the influence of social support on school engagement in the presence of neighborhood danger

This study tested competing models of the relationship of social support to school engagement in the presence of neighborhood danger and personal danger: the direct effects model (i.e., social support directly influences school engagement); the indirect effects model (i.e., social support influences school engagement by moderating the effects of neighborhood and personal danger); and the full model which holds that social support has both direct and indirect effects. The three models were tested using both nested path analysis and structural equation modeling. The model with the best fit for the data indicated that social support has both indirect and direct effects, with the indirect effect traveling down a path from personal danger to perceived neighborhood danger to school engagement. Implications for enhancing school engagement are discussed.