Neighborhood Perspective Research Articles

Chapter 5: Law and regulation

Chapter 5: Law and regulation

Incarceration and Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Neighborhood Perspective

Incarceration and Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Neighborhood Perspective

Exploring the Knowledge Base of HB & SE Using the Concept of Reciprocity

Building on prior scholarly work relevant to theory selection and evaluation for the Human Behavior and Social Environment (HB & SE) knowledge base, we identify and describe several emergent frameworks that aid our understanding and conceptualization of the “reciprocal interaction” between persons and their environments. These frameworks include life course, cultural psychological, social capital and neighborhood effects perspectives. We conclude with implications for HB & SE knowledge base and curriculum development.

Incarceration and Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Neighborhood Perspective

The social dynamics of some communities are affected by the loss of significant numbers of people to prison and by the release of others who encounter the challenge of coping with the negative effects of the incarceration experience. The effects on communities are evident, in part, in the high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in North Carolina (NC) counties that have a high rate of incarceration. In the present study, we examined whether the same associations can be observed at the census tract level in one urban city of NC. To identify the mechanisms by which incarceration can affect the transmission of STIs, we conducted ethnographic interviews with ex-offenders and people who lost a sexual partner to prison. We found that census tract rates of incarceration were consistently associated with gonorrhea rates in the subsequent year. An increase of the percentage of census tract person-time spent in prison from 2.0% to 2.5% corresponded to a gonorrhea rate increase of 7.1 cases per 100,000 person-years. The people interviewed spoke of sexual partnership changes including those left behind finding new partners, in part for help in making financial ends meet; men having sex with men for the first time in prison; and having multiple new partners upon reentry to the community. The statistical associations and stories of the effects of incarceration on sexual relationships provide additional evidence of unintended community health consequences of high rates of incarceration.

GIS and Community-based Planning: Exploring the Diversity of Neighborhood Perspectives and Needs

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, using a participatory research design, it attempts to contribute to a better understanding of the problems neighborhood groups face in accessing and using GIS-based data sources and technology, including their specific geographic information needs, their perceptions of the usefulness of GIS-technology for their activities, and their special concerns about GIS. Second, it provides an alternative conception of the notion of access, arguing that access cannot be reduced to the ability to obtain data, hardware and software, but also needs to consider community groups' awareness of information sources and GIS technology, and their ability to apply the technology and information in ways that are useful for their activities. Third, comparing the different community perspectives, this paper attempts to provide explanations for similarities and differences among groups, arguing that factors and conditions at the city-wide, organizational, and individual scales all shape the opportunities and constraints of neighborhood groups with respect to GIS access, application ideas, and concerns.

Economic Hardship and the Development of Five- and Six-Year-Olds: Neighborhood and Regional Perspectives

The present study examines the association between neighborhood characteristics and the development of 5- and 6-year-olds. We also explore how region might moderate the effects of neighborhoods on children, thus considering both larger (regional) and smaller (community) contexts of families. We find that structural aspects of the neighborhood at the census tract level are associated with child development in the early school-age period. For the sample as a whole, neighborhood factors play a role in both cognitive and socioemotional outcomes, even when family factors are controlled. Yet only modest support for neighborhood influences on child development is evident in our main effects models. It appears that neighborhood influences on child development are underestimated or masked unless the associations are examined separately by two areas of the United States: the Midwest and Northeast versus the South and West. Significant associations between neighborhood variables and children's development are seen in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions, but less so in the Southern and Western regions of the United States. Greater economic and social resources as measured by average neighborhood SES (income, education, occupation) and greater ethnic congruity as measured by more neighbors of the same racial heritage as the child are related to higher cognitive functioning, but only in the Northeast and Midwest. Furthermore, children in these regions show more competent behavioral functioning when the relative presence of adults to children in the neighborhood is higher. In these regions, African-American but not white children show higher levels of behavior problems when community male joblessness rates are higher. We speculate about processes that might underlie these neighborhood and regional effects and point to directions for further research.