Neighborhood Children Research Articles

Spatial Assimilation at a Halt? Intergenerational Persistence in Neighborhood Contexts among Immigrant Minorities in Norway

Spatial assimilation theory claims that immigrants’ acculturation and socioeconomic progress will lead to converging neighborhood attainment relative to non-migrant natives. Recently, it has been argued that equalization of local services and life chances across neighborhoods in egalitarian welfare states may delay spatial assimilation by reducing immigrants’ incentives to move out of low-income areas with many (co-ethnic) immigrant neighbors. In this article, we extend this argument to study whether neighborhood equalization also contributes to intergenerational persistence in neighborhood contexts among descendants of immigrants in Norway. Using administrative data, we find that immigrant descendants as adults often remain in neighborhood contexts that resemble their childhood neighborhoods, characterized by relative economic disadvantage and comparatively few ethnic majority residents. Intergenerational persistence in neighborhood contexts is strongest among descendants of immigrants from Pakistan, the Middle East, and Africa. The remaining immigrant–native gaps in spatial economic inequality largely reflect differences in individuals’ education and earnings, family background, and childhood neighborhood context, but these factors matter less for ethnic neighborhood segregation. For both economic and ethnic dimensions of neighborhood attainment, childhood neighborhood context is the factor that matters most in accounting for immigrant–native gaps, whereas individual socioeconomic attainment is the least important. Overall, our findings point to a pattern of “uneven assimilation” among immigrant descendants, where spatial assimilation is slow despite rapid socioeconomic progress across immigrant generations in the egalitarian Norwegian welfare state.

A new approach to a legacy concern: Evaluating machine-learned Bayesian networks to predict childhood lead exposure risk from community water systems.

Lead in drinking water continues to put children at risk of irreversible neurological impairment. Understanding drinking water system characteristics that influence blood lead levels is needed to prevent ongoing exposures. This study sought to assess the relationship between children's blood lead levels and drinking water system characteristics using machine-learned Bayesian networks. Blood lead records from 2003 to 2017 for 40,742 children in Wake County, North Carolina were matched with the characteristics of 178 community water systems and sociodemographic characteristics of each child's neighborhood. Bayesian networks were machine-learned to evaluate the drinking water variables associated with blood lead levels ≥2μg/dL and ≥5μg/dL. The model was used to predict geographic areas and water utilities with increased lead exposure risk. Drinking water characteristics were not significantly associated with children's blood lead levels ≥5μg/dL but were important predictors of blood lead levels ≥2μg/dL. Whether 10% of water samples exceeded 2ppb of lead in the most recent year prior to the blood test was the most important water system predictor and increased the risk of blood lead levels ≥2μg/dL by 42%. The model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.792 (±0.8%) during ten-fold cross validation, indicating good predictive performance. Water system characteristics may thus be used to predict areas that are at risk of higher blood lead levels. Current drinking water regulatory thresholds for lead may be insufficient to detect the levels in drinking water associated with children's blood lead levels.

Abstract EP17: Associations Between Neighborhood Child Opportunity And Cardiovascular Fitness For New York City Public School Youth

Introduction: Fewer than 1/4th of US youth meet physical activity guidelines, leading to physical fitness-related cardiovascular disease disparities tracking into adulthood. Neighborhood opportunity may serve as a critical modifiable factor to reduce youth cardiovascular health-related disparities. The present analysis uses the Child Opportunity Index (COI), a comprehensive measure of children’s neighborhood opportunity, to examine associations between neighborhood context and multiple youth cardiovascular fitness outcomes. Methods: Data were drawn from the NYC FITNESSGRAM (n = 300,000), comprising of fitness data from New York City (NYC) public school youth (grades K-12). Generalized linear mixed models were run to estimate overall and sex-stratified associations between overall COI and individual COI indicators (greenspace, healthy food, walkability, commute time) and youth cardiovascular fitness (body mass index (BMI) percentiles, curl-ups, push-ups, PACER, and sit and reach). Geographically weighted regression (GWR) models explored spatial variation of COI-fitness associations across NYC. Results: Overall COI was associated with improved youth cardiovascular fitness outcomes, with the strongest magnitude of effects across aerobic capacity and muscular strength and endurance measures (PACER: β: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.15, curl-ups: β: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.12, 1490.13, and push-ups: β: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.13). Greenspace was positively associated with muscular endurance (curl-ups: β: 1.13, 95% CI:0.76, 1.50; push-ups: β: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.84), and walkability and commuting time were positively associated with aerobic capacity (PACER: β: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.72, 2.50; β: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.87, 2.19, respectively). Stratified models showed strengthened COI-fitness associations among girls versus boys. GWR models were largely consistent with findings from multilevel models, except for overall COI-BMI associations, which varied in magnitude and direction across regions in NYC. Conclusion: Neighborhood opportunity was associated with multiple measures of youth cardiovascular fitness, though geographic models demonstrate that certain associations vary in magnitude and direction across NYC. Continued research on neighborhood factors and cardiovascular fitness may better inform public health efforts to reduce health disparities modifiable through comprehensive place-based interventions.

Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Neighborhood Child Opportunity Index

To evaluate the association between the Child Opportunity Index (COI) and food insecurity. This was a secondary analysis of a comprehensive screening instrument for social determinants of health and behavioral health risks. It was administered in 2 urban pediatric emergency departments to adolescents aged 13-21years and caregivers of children aged 0-17years. Food insecurity was assessed using the 2-item Hunger Vital Sign. Residential addresses were geocoded and linked with COI data. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression models were developed to measure the relationship between COI and food insecurity. Of the 954 participants (384 adolescents, 570 caregivers) who underwent screening, 15.7% identified food insecurity (14.3% of adolescent and 16.7% of caregiver participants). The majority of participants were non-Hispanic Black (overall, 62.3%; food secure, 60.9%; food insecure, 72.0%), were publicly insured (overall, 56.6%; food secure, 53.1%; food insecure, 73.3%), and lived in neighborhoods of low/very low opportunity (overall, 76.9%; food secure, 74.7%; food insecure, 88.3%). In adjusted analyses, participants living in neighborhoods of low/very low child opportunity had 3-fold greater odds of being food insecure compared with children living in neighborhoods of high child opportunity (aOR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.4-6.3). We demonstrate that food insecurity is associated with lower neighborhood opportunity. Our results could inform future screening initiatives and support the development of novel, place-based interventions to tackle the complex issue of food insecurity.

Psychiatric and substance use disorders in a predominately low-income, black sample in early midlife

Decades of research have documented elevated rates of psychopathology among individuals affected by poverty. However, many studies have relied on predominately White samples, and on brief symptom screening measures which may not fully capture the experiences of individuals of color (who are disproportionately affected by poverty in the United States.) The present study examines prevalence rates of probable major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, and alcohol use disorder in a predominately Black sample that grew up in urban poverty, utilizing structured neuropsychiatric interview methods. Data are drawn from a subsample of the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), which has followed a large cohort for over four decades. Outcomes were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) 7.0.2. Results indicate high probable rates of all measured outcomes, with notably high rates of substance use and alcohol use disorder compared to rates reported in previous national studies. Differences by sex and childhood neighborhood poverty, as well as significant comorbidity among psychiatric, substance and alcohol use disorders were also detected. Findings underscore an urgent need for community-based, culturally tailored prevention and intervention initiatives to support the mental health of individuals living in poverty. The high prevalence of psychiatric, substance and alcohol use disorders in this study likely reflect systematic inequities faced by low-income people of color in the United States. Future directions for research and practice are discussed.

Perceptions of Childhood Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Cognitive Function in Middle and Late Adulthood.

Framed within the life course perspective and the neighborhood stress model, this study investigated the association between perceptions of childhood neighborhood social cohesion and cognitive function among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. We also examined whether gender, childhood hukou status, the Chinese national administrative household registration system, and birth cohort moderated the association. This study used 3 waves of nationally representative data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011-2015; N = 11,469). Cognitive function was measured with the Telephone Interview for Cognition Status instrument. Two-level multilevel modeling was employed to address the research questions. A higher overall level of childhood neighborhood social cohesion was associated with a higher baseline level of cognitive function (b = 0.26, p < .001) and a slower rate of cognitive decline (b = 0.10, p = .010). Birth cohort membership moderated the linkage between childhood neighborhood social cohesion and the level of cognitive function (b = 0.35, p < .001) and cognitive decline (b = 0.19, p = .014). Gender and childhood hukou status did not moderate these associations. These findings underscored the long-term ramifications of childhood conditions for later-life cognitive function. Social cohesion at the neighborhood level during childhood may be a factor that promotes healthy cognitive aging.

The Fun Mother and Her Lovely Assistant

The Fun Mother and Her Lovely Assistant

Visualizing How Race, Support for Black Lives Matter, and Gun Ownership Shape Views of the U.S. Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021

Protest movements linked to racial inequality in policing and antigovernment sentiment have roiled the United States in recent years. In this visualization, the authors examine how race, support for Black Lives Matter (BLM), and gun ownership predict views about the political uprising of January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. On the basis of a 2021 survey from a long-term longitudinal study, the authors show that views of the Capitol insurrection do not vary by race, contrary to expectations. However, there is a positive association between support for BLM and views of January 6 participants as “extremists,” especially among Whites, independent of age, sex, respondent’s education, parental education, and childhood neighborhood poverty. Race and gun ownership also interact, with White gun owners an outlier in viewing the insurrection more favorably. Black gun owners, on the contrary, viewed it most negatively.

The Effect of Early Neighborhood Contexts on Cognitive Function in Midlife

We evaluated associations between objective and subjective early-life neighborhood contexts and cognitive function at midlife. Study participants grew up in different addresses but resided in the same urban zip code at the time of data collection thus controlling for concurrent neighborhood contexts. Participants provided their home address when they were five-years-old and recalled their age-five neighborhood conditions (Mage= 40.59 (7.91); n = 130). Age-five addresses were geocoded and linked with harmonized longitudinal Census tract boundaries and variables. Predictive models with a self-reported neighborhood conditions score, an objective neighborhood deprivation indicator, and other sociodemographic covariates indicated that poorer age-five self-reported neighborhood conditions were significantly associated with lower baseline (Cohen’s d = -.24) and average daily (d = -.21) working memory performance. There were no associations with objective age-five neighborhoods. Results contribute to a growing literature on the role of psychosocial neighborhood contexts on cognition that may extend back to childhood neighborhoods.

The effects of disability status and perceived neighbourhood cohesion and safety on adverse childhood experiences among college students.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are early traumatic events that can have adverse long-term developmental effects on a person's health and well-being. Individuals with disabilities are at a greater risk of all types of ACEs. However, the impact of having a disability and neighbourhood context on ACEs is under-researched, and even less is known about whether neighbourhood cohesion and safety affect the relationship between disability status and ACEs. The purpose of this study is to examine the direct and indirect pathways between disability status, childhood neighbourhood environment and ACEs. The final study sample of this study was 2,049 college students, consisting of 494 students with disabilities and 1,555 students without disabilities from six universities in the U.S. and Canada between March 2016 and June 2017. Data analysis included Pearson correlations and structural equation modelling procedures using Stata 16 software to test a partial mediation model. Having a disability has both a direct effect and an indirect effect through the neighbourhood environment on ACEs after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics associated with neighbourhood environment or ACEs. The findings suggest that neighbourhood cohesion and safety can be a mediator between disability status and ACEs, and the potential cumulative risk and protective factors that can contribute to ACEs. To elucidate the relationship between disability status and a higher risk for ACEs fully and prevent ACEs that can negatively impact the long-term health outcomes, greater attention to environmental risk and protective factors is urgently needed.

The association between childhood neighborhood relationship and mental health in middle and later life: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

BackgroundIt is unclear that whether childhood neighborhood relationship is associated with mental health among middle-aged and older adults. To overcome this research gap, this study aimed to investigate the association between childhood neighborhood relationship and mental health among the middle-aged and older adults in China.MethodsThe data of this study was sourced from the 2014 and 2015 waves of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We used ordinary least squares and logit regression models to explore the association between childhood neighborhood relationship and mental health among the middle-aged and older adults in China.ResultsThe regression results indicate that the middle-aged and older adults who lived in place where neighbors had close-knit relationships at childhood was significantly associated with decreased odds of suffering from depressive symptoms (OR = 0.4259, p < 0.001). Furthermore, compared to the middle-aged and older adults who lived in place where neighbors were not close-knit at childhood, those who lived in place where neighbors were close-knit at childhood had a reduced CES–D score (coefficient = − 2.7822, p < 0.001).ConclusionThis study demonstrates the importance of living in place where neighbors had close-knit relationships at childhood. The integrated interventions, including maintaining close-knit neighborhood relationships and strengthening the construction of community, may be useful to improve mental health.

Neighborhoods Matter: Assessing the Evidence for Place Effects

How does one's place of residence affect individual behavior and long-run outcomes? Understanding neighborhood and place effects has been a leading question for social scientists during the past half-century. Recent empirical studies using experimental and quasi-experimental research designs have generated new insights on the importance of residential neighborhoods in childhood and adulthood. This paper summarizes the recent neighborhood effects literature and interprets the findings. Childhood neighborhoods affect long-run economic and educational outcomes in a manner consistent with exposure models of neighborhood effects. For adults, neighborhood environments matter for their health and well-being but have more ambiguous impacts on labor market outcomes. We discuss the evidence on the mechanisms behind the observed patterns and conclude by highlighting directions for future research.

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Childhood Body Mass Index Trajectories From Birth to 7 Years of Age.

The epidemic of increasing childhood overweight and obesity is a major global health concern, with local contextual factors identified as possible contributors. Robust research is needed to establish an evidence base supporting health policy decisions to reverse the trend. We aimed to examine the association between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and trajectories of body mass index (BMI) from birth to age 7. The present study included 11,023 children born within the Southwest Finland Birth Cohort who were free of severe conditions affecting growth with adequate exposure and growth data. We obtained child growth data until school age from municipal follow-up clinics. We based cumulative childhood neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage on the average annual income, unemployment, and level of education in a residential area defined using a geographic grid at a spatial resolution of 250 m by 250 m. Cumulative neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with distinct childhood BMI z score trajectories from birth to age 7. Despite being born in the lowest BMI z scores, children growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods subsequently exhibited a trajectory of increasing BMI z scores starting at 4 years of age, ending up with a higher risk of overweight at the end of the follow-up (30%) as compared with children living in more affluent neighborhoods (22%). The corresponding risk of obesity was 5 % for those in affluent neighborhoods and 9 % and those in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Cumulative exposure to neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is independently associated with unfavorable BMI development and obesity in childhood.

Lula and the Future of the Past

Lula and the Future of the Past

Neighbourhood effects on psychiatric disorders among Finnish adolescents: The moderating impact of family background.

We study whether childhood neighbourhood context affects mental health in adolescence in Finland. We also examine heterogeneous effects by family background. By exploiting register data for 1999-2018, we use sibling fixed effects models to gain more robust evidence on the existence of neighbourhood effects. We do not find evidence of an association between neighbourhood characteristics and psychiatric disorders within families. Differences in the effects by family background were not consistent, and variation was mainly found in random effects models. In general, observed family characteristics were strongly associated with psychiatric disorders. This means that interventions should be targeted to children at risk rather than certain neighbourhoods.

Quantifying within-city inequalities in child mortality across neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Countries in sub-Saharan Africa suffer the highest rates of child mortality worldwide. Urban areas tend to have lower mortality than rural areas, but these comparisons likely mask large within-city inequalities. We aimed to quantify variation in child mortality across neighbourhoods of Accra – Ghana’s capital city. METHODS: We accessed data on 700,000 women aged 25-49 years living in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) using the most recent Ghana census (2010). We summarised counts of child births and deaths by five-year age group of women and neighbourhood (n=406) and applied indirect demographic methods to convert the summaries to yearly probabilities of death under-five years of age. We fitted a Bayesian spatio-temporal model to the neighbourhood child mortality probabilities to obtain estimates for 2010, and examined the correlation with indicators of neighbourhood environmental and socio-economic conditions. RESULTS:Child mortality varied almost five-fold across neighbourhoods in the GAMA in 2010, ranging from 28 (95% credible interval (CrI): 8-63) to 138 (95% CrI: 111-167) deaths per 1000 live births. Child mortality was highest in the urban core and industrial districts, with a neighbourhood average of 95 deaths per 1000 live births. Peri-urban neighbourhoods performed better, on average, but had greater within-district variation (up to 3.8-fold). Child mortality was negatively correlated with multiple indicators of improved living and socio-economic conditions among peri-urban neighbourhoods. Among urban neighbourhoods however, correlations were weaker or in some cases reversed, including with neighbourhood median household consumption and levels of women’s schooling. CONCLUSIONS:We found substantial child mortality inequalities between and within GAMA’s districts and identified urban neighbourhoods being left behind in child mortality reductions. Improved neighbourhood environmental and socioeconomic conditions in the inner city did not correspond to lower levels of child mortality. Universal access to quality healthcare services can mitigate mortality inequalities where children are born into different circumstances. KEYWORDS: Mortality, Children's environmental health, Spatial statistics, International collaboration

Trends of out-mobility from large housing estates in Stockholm: influences of the housing policy and neighbourhood context

Since 1990s Stockholm housing market has seen deregulations in accordance with liberalization trends in other European welfare states. The new governance principles together with increasing immigration and public rental housing conversions into cooperative housing in attractive inner city areas have put pressure on still rental-dominated estates because fewer rental dwellings must now cater to expanding numbers of people who have little choice on the housing market. In recent decades, many estates have displayed increasing signs of stigmatization, social exclusion, and outflow of relatively affluent people. This paper improves our knowledge of how the housing policy and economic changes have affected out-mobility from the housing estates in case of three cohorts of young people and how the childhood neighbourhood conditions affect this. Individual annual Swedish registry data (1990–2014) are employed to longitudinally study the out-mobility patterns of three cohorts that grew up in the estates against the backdrop of marketization, growing inequality and deteriorating conditions. This study supplements the existing literature on housing estates by clarifying how income has become more and ethnicity less important over time in explaining sorting patterns from these estates. However, the combination of the two has determined sorting throughout the study period. Growing up in a higher socioeconomic status neighbourhood had modest impact on reducing socioeconomic differences in out-mobility from the estates, while leading to more sorting based on ethnic background.

Context in continuity: The enduring legacy of neighborhood disadvantage across generations

Neighborhoods may contribute to the maintenance of inequality in well-being across generations. We use restricted geo-coded National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data (NLSY 1979 and NLSY Child and Young Adult) to estimate the association between multigenerational exposure to childhood neighborhood disadvantage and subsequent adult exposure. Invoking cousin fixed effects models that adjust for unobserved legacies of disadvantage that cascade across three generations, we find that families where both parents and their children are exposed to childhood neighborhood disadvantage are likely to pass on the legacy of neighborhood disadvantage to successive generations, net of observed and unobserved confounders. Second, we find a direct intergenerational neighborhood association, net of observed and unobserved confounders. Third, we find that unobserved confounders nested in the grandparent generation explain away the intragenerational neighborhood association. These findings reorient neighborhood theory to more seriously attend to the interdependence of neighborhood-level and individual-level antecedents of inequality across generations.

Early life predictors of positive change during the coronavirus disease pandemic

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis unprecedented in its size and scope. Yet studies of resilience suggest most individuals will successfully negotiate this challenge and some may even experience growth and positive change. Some evidence suggests that the capacity to enact positive change in the face of adversity may be shaped by early life experiences.MethodsIn a subset of 374 participants (57% female, mean age = 29 years) in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), a longitudinal, birth cohort, prospective models were tested to determine whether early life adversities in family and neighborhood contexts predict positive change events in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Childhood family and neighborhood contexts were assessed using a combination of self-report questionnaires and US Census data. Adulthood positive change events (e.g., becoming more appreciative of things usually taken for granted) were assessed using the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII).ResultsIn regression analyses, neighborhood disadvantage in childhood, measured both by objective and subjective assessments, predicted a higher number of positive change events in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (β = .18, p = .004 and β = .15, p = .006, respectively). Examination of the positive change event subscales showed neighborhood disadvantage in childhood predicted increases in events related to ‘perspective taking and charitable giving’ (β = .20, p = .022 and β = .17, p = .002, respectively) and improved ‘social relationships’ (β = .18, p = .004 and β = .13, p = .020, respectively), but not to positive ‘health behaviors’ (ps > .05). All associations were independent of sociodemographic factors and childhood family dysfunction.ConclusionsFindings suggest that neighborhood disadvantage in childhood may shape prosocial responses to stress in adulthood, potentially through early life adaptions to stress that are protective when facing adversity. There are several notable implications of the study findings. Although adversity in early life has clear negative impacts, it is possible that adversity experiences may also provide opportunities to develop adaptive strategies that foster resilience and growth when facing stress. Intervention efforts should consider leveraging such stress-adapted strengths to reduce the many negative impacts of early life adversity.

Association Between Childhood Neighborhood Quality and the Risk of Cognitive Dysfunction in Chinese Middle-Aged and Elderly Population: The Moderation Effect of Body Mass Index.

Background: Identification of early modifiable factors is crucial to delay or prevent the development of cognitive impairment and reduce the social and economic burden.Objective: This study aimed to examine the longitudinal associations of childhood neighborhood quality (CNQ) with the risk of later-life cognitive dysfunction and the role of body mass index (BMI) in this association.Methods: A total of 8,289 community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly population from wave 2011, wave 2013, and wave 2015 of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were included. Cognitive function and CNQ were measured by standardized questionnaires. Multilevel linear regression models were used to estimate the associations of CNQ and cognitive function. The interactions of BMI with CNQ in the progress of cognitive function were also estimated.Results: The participants with higher CNQ had a significantly low risk of cognitive impairment than those with lower CNQ score (β = 0.067, 95% CI: 0.031, 0.103), and the results remained similar (β = 0.039, 95% CI: 0.004, 0.075) after controlling other confounding variables. Furthermore, there was an interaction between BMI with CNQ score (P < 0.001) for the risk of cognitive impairment. In BMI-stratified analysis, we found that the association of CNQ and cognitive function was not statistically significant in overweight or obese population (β = 0.019, 95% CI: −0.032, 0.070), but was statistically significant in people with lower BMI (β = 0.059, 95% CI: 0.010, 0.107).Conclusions: Higher CNQ score is significantly associated with the lower risk of cognitive dysfunction in adulthood. BMI may moderate the associations of CNQ with the risk of cognitive function.