Perceived Neighborhood Conditions Research Articles

Social participation of low‐income older adults in deprived urban neighborhoods in Amsterdam: A study among native Dutch, and Surinamese, Moroccan and Turkish migrants in The Netherlands

AbstractThis paper explores differences in social participation among low‐income older migrants and socioeconomically similar native Dutch older adults living in deprived neighborhoods in Amsterdam. It also analyzes experiences of social participation in relation to perceived neighborhood conditions. Analysis of 85 in‐depth interviews reveals that the types of activities that low‐income older adults participate in center around less demanding (collective) rather than more demanding (political and productive) forms of social participation. Differences in social participation were associated with personal characteristics and with neighborhood experiences. The findings articulate the dynamic and complex interaction between the competencies of older adults belonging to different ethnic communities and their diverse preferences and environmental needs. Older migrants living in areas where their own group is dominant enjoyed better access to ethnic services and experienced greater opportunities for social interaction. However, when compared to their native Dutch counterparts, they were more likely to encounter language barriers and to experience specific environmental problems, such as inadequate housing conditions and paid parking.

Interactions among neighborhood conditions, sleep quality, and episodic memory across the adult lifespan

ABSTRACT Objectives On average, adults racialized as non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic sleep more poorly than adults racialized as non-Hispanic White (hereafter, Black, Hispanic, White), but associations between factors that may moderate sleep-memory associations in these groups, such as neighborhood conditions, are unclear. Poorer neighborhood conditions (e.g. lower neighborhood cohesion) may be negatively associated with sleep quality and multiplicatively influence sleep-memory associations. We hypothesized lower ratings of neighborhood conditions would be associated with poorer sleep quality and moderate the association between sleep quality and episodic memory, especially in Black and Hispanic adults, who are disproportionately situated in poor neighborhood conditions. Design Seven-hundred-thirty-six adults across the adult lifespan (27-89 years) were recruited from the northern Manhattan community as a part of the Offspring Study of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Alzheimer’s disease. Sleep quality was assessed using a modified version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and episodic memory was evaluated with the Buschke Selective Reminding Test. With multiple regression models, we measured associations between perceived neighborhood conditions and sleep quality and the interaction between sleep quality and neighborhood conditions on episodic memory stratified by racial/ethnic and gender identity groups. Results Overall, poorer neighborhood conditions were associated with poorer sleep quality. In Black and Hispanic women, the sleep-memory association was moderated by neighborhood conditions. With more favorable neighborhood conditions, Black women showed an association between higher sleep quality and higher memory performance, and Hispanic women showed a protective effect of neighborhood (higher memory even when sleep quality was poor). Conclusion Poorer neighborhood experiences may contribute to poorer sleep quality across groups. In Black and Hispanic women, the association between sleep quality and episodic memory performance was dependent upon neighborhood conditions. These findings may inform tailored, structural level sleep interventions, aimed to improve neighborhood experiences and thereby sleep quality and episodic memory.

Perceived Neighborhood Conditions, Psychosocial Factors, and Sleep Problems Among Urban and Rural Older Adults in China.

To examine the associations between perceived neighborhood conditions and older Chinese adults' sleep problems, and whether these associations are mediated by psychosocial factors and moderated by urban-rural residence. Data were from the World Health Organization Study on global Ageing and Adult Health. We used OLS, binary, and multinomial logistic regression analyses. Karlson-Holm-Breen decomposition method was used to test mediation effects. Positively perceived neighborhood social cohesion was associated with fewer insomnia symptoms and decreased odds of poor sleep quality, sleepiness, lethargy, and short sleep duration. Positively perceived neighborhood safety was related to decreased risks of poor sleep quality and sleepiness. Depression and perceived control partially mediated the effects of perceived neighborhood on sleep. Furthermore, the protective effects of neighborhood cohesion against sleep problems were more pronounced among older urban adults than their rural counterparts. Interventions that make neighborhoods safer and more integrated will improve late-life sleep health.

Examining the Cross-sectional Association Between Neighborhood Conditions, Discrimination, and Telomere Length in a Predominantly African American Sample.

Disproportionate exposure to adverse neighborhood conditions and greater discrimination may contribute to health disparities among African Americans (AAs). We examined whether adverse neighborhood conditions, alone or in conjunction with discrimination, associate with shorter leukocyte telomere length among a predominantly AA cohort. The sample included 200 residents from two low-income neighborhoods (96% AA; mean age = 67years). Perceived neighborhood conditions and discrimination were surveyed in 2018, and objective neighborhood conditions (total crime rate, neighborhood walkability, ambient air pollution (PM2.5, black carbon)) were collected in 2017/2018. Relative telomere length (T/S; ratio of telomeric DNA to a single-gene copy) was assessed from blood samples. Linear regression models estimated the main effects of each neighborhood condition and discrimination and their interactions on the T/S ratio. Less walkable neighborhoods were associated with shorter telomeres. Higher air pollution (PM2.5) was associated with shorter telomeres among those experiencing greater discrimination. Findings highlight the importance of understanding the intersecting influences of historic and contemporary sources of systemic racism and how they contribute to accelerated aging among adults.

Influence of Neighborhood Conditions on Recurrent Hospital Readmissions in Patients with Heart Failure: A Cohort Study

PurposeThis study examined how certain aspects of residential neighborhood conditions (ie, observed built environment, census-based area-level poverty, and perceived disorder) affect readmission in urban patients with heart failure. MethodsA total of 400 patients with heart failure who were discharged alive from an urban-university teaching hospital were enrolled. Data were collected about readmissions during a 2-year follow-up. The impact of residential neighborhood conditions on readmissions was examined with adjustment for 7 blocks of covariates: 1) patient demographic characteristics; 2) comorbidities; 3) clinical characteristics; 4) depression; 5) perceived stress; 6) health behaviors; and 7) hospitalization characteristics. ResultsA total of 83.3% of participants were readmitted. Participants from high-poverty census tracts (≥20%) were at increased risk of readmission compared with those from census tracts with <10% poverty (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.53; 95% confidence interval: 1.03-2.27; P < .05) when adjusted for demographic characteristics. None of the built environmental or perceived neighborhood conditions were associated with the risk of readmission. The poverty-related risk of readmission was reduced to nonsignificance after including diabetes (HR: 1.33) and hypertension (HR: 1.35) in the models. ConclusionsThe effect of high poverty is partly explained by high rates of hypertension and diabetes in these areas. Improving diabetes and blood pressure control or structural aspects of impoverished areas may help reduce hospital readmissions.

Current and Future Directions in Minority Aging: Embracing Interdisciplinary Models

Racial/ethnic disparities in health among older adults are well-documented. More research is needed to clarify the complex and multifactorial mechanisms underlying these associations. This symposium will feature research that employs innovative theoretical and methodological approaches to understand the biopsychosocial mechanisms that underlie racial/ethnic disparities in older adults’ health and determine sources of within-group heterogeneity in minority aging. Dr. Forrester will integrate stress biology and intersectionality to demonstrate the importance of stress and resilience (e.g., John Henryism) with biological aging within Black adults participating in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Dr. Brown Hughes will present innovative research using data from the African American United Memory and Aging Project (AA-UMAP) on the importance of Alzheimer’s disease-specific knowledge and perceptions among Black older adults. Dr. Gamaldo will employ a within-race approach to understand how knowledge and perceptions of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) shape cognitive performance among Black older adults in the AA-UMAP study. Dr. Mitchell will use Health and Retirement Study data to explore the role of midlife stress exposure in accounting for racial disparities in trajectories of cognitive functioning. Drs. Thierry and Farmer will use HRS data to examine how psychosocial resilience (e.g., mastery) affects the relationship between perceived neighborhood conditions (e.g., disorder) and cognition among Black older adults. This work highlights the importance of applying an interdisciplinary lens to move the study of minority aging forward and ultimately, to reduce the unnecessary burden of morbidity and mortality among minoritized groups.

Perceived Neighborhood Conditions, Self-Management Abilities, and Psychological Well-Being Among Chinese Older Adults in Hawai'i.

Using survey data collected from January to September 2018 (N = 430), this study examined how neighborhood physical conditions and social cohesion were associated with psychological well-being via pathway of self-management abilities among Chinese older adults living in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Results showed that, for the whole sample, neighborhood physical conditions and social cohesion were significantly associated with psychological well-being, and the main associations were mediated by self-management abilities in the amount of 34% and 60%, respectively. Similar results were found for the foreign-born, whereas for the U.S.-born, psychological well-being was significantly related to neighborhood physical conditions only. Our findings reveal the importance of neighborhood conditions and individual psychological resources on psychological well-being of Chinese older adults.

Examine the associations between perceived neighborhood conditions, physical activity, and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study examined how neighborhood conditions changed and how neighborhood conditions were associated with physical activity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic among Americans. The major outcomes were stratified by the neighborhood's poverty and regression models were used to assess the associations between neighborhood conditions and their change during the pandemic and the outcomes of physical activity and mental health. The results show that low-poverty neighborhoods had more health-promoting neighborhood conditions before the outbreak and more positive changes during the outbreak. Health-promoting neighborhood conditions were associated with higher physical activity and moderate physical activity and lack of negative neighborhood conditions such as crime/violence and traffic were associated with a lower risk of mental health problems including loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Mental health problems were also significantly associated with the COVID-19 infection and death and household income level. Our findings suggest that it is plausible that the disparities of physical activity and mental health by neighborhood exacerbate due to the pandemic and people who living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods bear increasingly disproportionate burden.

Examining the Relationship between Hukou Status, Perceived Neighborhood Conditions, and Fear of Crime in Guangzhou, China

Fear of crime can lead to lower satisfaction with life and subjective well-being. The indicators of fear of crime vary from the social and cultural context, and the hukou (household registration) status causes unequal rights between local hukou and non-local hukou residents in China. To improve people’s perception of safety, this study takes hukou as an indicator of social vulnerability and examines the relationship between hukou, perceived neighborhood conditions, and fear of crime in China. A binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the 1727 residents garnered from the 2016 Project on Public Safety in Guangzhou Neighborhoods (PPSGN) in Guangzhou, China. The results show that women, victimization experience, physical and social disorder, and neighborhood policing are associated with residents’ fear of crime. Although hukou status has no statistically significant effect on fear of crime, hukou status significantly moderates the influence of perceived neighborhood conditions on fear of crime. That is, perceived neighborhood conditions’ effects on fear are conditional on one’s hukou status: non-local hukou, perception of the social disorder has more of the detrimental effect on fear, and perception of social integration has less of the helpful effect on fear. In sum, this study adds to the international literature by revealing the conditional effect of the hukou on fear in a Chinese city.

A Latent Class Analysis of Perceived Neighborhood Conditions Associated with Mental Disorders Among Children in the United States.

The current study examined the association between perceived neighborhood conditions and common childhood mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of children in the U.S. The datawere derived from the 2017 National Survey of Children's Health, including American children aged 6-17years (N = 15,438). Latent class analysis was used to identify subtypes of perceived neighborhood conditions regarding neighborhood physical environment, social capital, and violence. Three classes were identified: Ideal Neighborhood (55.99%); Insufficient Assets (27.38%), and Broken and Unsafe Neighborhood (16.63%). The effects of latent classes on psychiatric outcomes (i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety, conduct problem, and any of these four disorders) were examined. Class membership was differentially associated with the mental disorders after adjustment for demographic variables, food insufficiency, and guardian's mental health. The Broken and Unsafe Neighborhood class was associated with greater odds of all childhood psychiatric disorders than the Ideal Neighborhood and Insufficient Assets class. Insufficient Assets class was associated with greater odds of all childhood psychiatric disorders than the Ideal Neighborhood class. The findings suggest that neighborhood-level interventions to decrease children's mental health burdens are critically needed.

Racial Residential Segregation, Perceived Neighborhood Conditions, and Self‐Rated Health: The Case of Houston, Texas

Previous research has linked racial residential segregation to a number of poor health outcomes. Yet, the mechanisms that could account for this association remain poorly understood and have seldom been empirically tested in the literature. In an analysis of the Houston area, we test one potential mechanism—perceived neighborhood conditions, as measured by two indices for neighborhood disorder and environmental quality. Using individual‐level health data from a survey of Houston residents and neighborhood‐level sociodemographic data from the U.S. Census, we estimate a series of multilevel models. We find that black and Latino segregation are linked to the perceived neighborhood disorder index, but no such relationship for the environmental quality index. Moreover, we find that both indices are related to poor self‐rated health in that residents who evaluate their neighborhood conditions negatively are more likely to evaluate their health as poor. We also find a direct effect of black and Latino segregation on poor self‐rated health, and that perceived neighborhood disorder partially mediates this relationship. We do not find a mediation effect for environmental quality. The results suggest that in order to improve the health of these communities, both residential segregation and neighborhood conditions need to be addressed.

Neighborhood perceptions and allostatic load: Evidence from Midlife in the United States study

Allostatic load, which represents the cumulative wear and tear on physiological systems resulting from long-term exposure to stress, provides a theoretical framework that can be applied to understand the association between neighborhood conditions and health outcomes. Within allostatic load theory perception plays a key role, as the cognitive appraisal process associated with one's perceptions determines whether external stimuli-such as neighborhood conditions-are deemed threatening or benign. With data from the Midlife Development in the United States, this study employed structural equation modeling to assess the association between neighborhood perceptions and cumulative, systems-level allostatic load scores. The findings demonstrate that neighborhood perception, as operationalized as a combination of perceived trust in neighbors, perceived neighborhood safety, and perceived neighborhood conditions, was inversely associated with allostatic load even when controlling for objective neighborhood conditions.

Cognitive resources moderate the adverse impact of poor perceived neighborhood conditions on self-reported physical activity of older adults

Poor neighborhood conditions are associated with lower levels of physical activity for older adults but socio-ecological models posit that physical activity depends on both environmental and individual factors. Older adults' ability to overcome environmental barriers to physical activity may partially rely on cognitive resources. However, evidence on the moderating role of these cognitive resources in the associations between environmental barriers and physical activity is still lacking. We analyzed cross-national and longitudinal data on 28,393 adults aged 50 to 96 years as part of the SHARE. Lack of access to services and neighborhood nuisances were used as indicators of poor neighborhood conditions. Delayed recall and verbal fluency were used as indicators of cognitive resources. Confounder-adjusted generalized estimation equations were conducted to test associations between neighborhood conditions and self-reported moderate physical activity, as well as the moderating role of cognitive resources. Results showed that poor neighborhood conditions reduced the odds of engagement in physical activity. Cognitive resources robustly reduced the adverse influence of poor neighborhood conditions on physical activity. Participants with lower cognitive resource scores showed lower odds of engaging in physical activity when neighborhood conditions were poorer, whereas these conditions were not related to this engagement for participants with higher cognitive resource scores. These findings suggest that cognitive resources can temper the detrimental effect of poor neighborhood conditions on physical activity. Public policies should target both individual and environmental factors to tackle the current pandemic of physical inactivity more comprehensively.

South African Adolescents' Neighborhood Perceptions Predict Longitudinal Change in Youth and Family Functioning.

This study examined South African early adolescent youth (aged 10 to 14) and their female caregivers (N = 99 dyads) participating in an HIV prevention intervention over a period of eight months. We examined youth perceptions of neighborhood cohesion, safety, and collective monitoring as they related to concurrent and longitudinal associations with youth (externalizing behavior and hope about the future) and family (parent-youth relationship quality, parental involvement, and parental responsiveness to sex communication) functioning while controlling for baseline characteristics. Neighborhood perceptions were significantly associated (p < .05) with short- and longer-term outcomes. Gender differences suggested a greater protective association of perceived neighborhood conditions with changes in functioning for boys versus girls. Unexpected associations were also observed, including short-term associations suggesting a link between better neighborhood quality and poorer family functioning. We account for the culture of this South African community when contextualizing our findings and conclude with recommendations for interventions targeting neighborhood contexts.

Perceived Neighborhood Conditions and Depression: Positive Local News as a Buffering Factor

ABSTRACTThis study investigates positive local news as a moderator of the effects of perceived neighborhood conditions on depression. Data from an online survey of Chicago residents indicate that the relationship between fear of crime and depression is weaker for respondents who pay more attention to positive local news. Data also reveal that the indirect relationships that perceived neighborhood disorder and crime have with depression through fear of crime are weaker as attention to positive local news increases. Implications are discussed for the role of positive news as a protective factor for mental health.

The Impact of Neighborhood Conditions and Psychological Distress on Preterm Birth in African-American Women.

Prior research suggests that adverse neighborhood conditions are related to preterm birth. One potential pathway by which neighborhood conditions increase the risk for preterm birth is by increasing women's psychological distress. Our objective was to examine whether psychological distress mediated the relationship between neighborhood conditions and preterm birth. One hundred and one pregnant African-American women receiving prenatal care at a medical center in Chicago participated in this cross-sectional design study. Women completed the self-report instruments about their perceived neighborhood conditions and psychological distress between 15-26weeks gestation. Objective measures of the neighborhood were derived using geographic information systems (GIS). Birth data were collected from medical records. Perceived adverse neighborhood conditions were related to psychological distress: perceived physical disorder (r=.26, p=.01), perceived social disorder (r=.21, p=.03), and perceived crime (r=.30, p=.01). Objective neighborhood conditions were not related to psychological distress. Psychological distress mediated the effects of perceived neighborhood conditions on preterm birth. Psychological distress in the second trimester mediated the effects of perceived, but not objective, neighborhood conditions on preterm birth. If these results are replicable in studies with larger sample sizes, intervention strategies could be implemented at the individual level to reduce psychological distress and improve women's ability to cope with adverse neighborhood conditions.

Is the Effect of Procedural Justice on Police Legitimacy Invariant? Testing the Generality of Procedural Justice and Competing Antecedents of Legitimacy

This study tests the generality of Tyler’s process-based model of policing by examining whether the effect of procedural justice and competing variables (i.e., distributive justice and police effectiveness) on police legitimacy evaluations operate in the same manner across individual and situational differences. Data from a random sample of mail survey respondents are used to test the “invariance thesis” (N = 1681). Multiplicative interaction effects between the key antecedents of legitimacy (measured separately for obligation to obey and trust in the police) and various demographic categories, prior experiences, and perceived neighborhood conditions are estimated in a series of multivariate regression equations. The effect of procedural justice on police legitimacy is largely invariant. However, regression and marginal results show that procedural justice has a larger effect on trust in law enforcement among people with prior victimization experience compared to their counterparts. Additionally, the distributive justice effect on trust in the police is more pronounced for people who have greater fear of crime and perceive higher levels of disorder in their neighborhood. The results suggest that Tyler’s process-based model is a “general” theory of individual police legitimacy evaluations. The police can enhance their legitimacy by ensuring procedural fairness during citizen interactions. The role of procedural justice also appears to be particularly important when the police interact with crime victims.

Neighborhood epidemiological monitoring and adult mental health: European Quality of Life Survey, 2007-2012.

Little is monitored on perceived neighborhood noise, quality of drinking water, air quality, rubbish, traffic, etc. at a continental scale. This study was aimed to examine the relationships of such neighborhood risks and mental health in adults and the very old in an international and population-based setting across Europe. Data were retrieved from the European Quality of Life Survey, 2007-2012 including demographics, living conditions, income and financial situation, housing and local environment, family, work, health, social participation and quality of social services. Adults aged 18 and above were included for statistical analysis (n = 79,270). Analysis included chi-square test, t test and logistic regression modeling. People who lived in town or city tended to indicate certain major problems for them such as noise (odds ratio (OR) 2.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.17-2.53, P < 0.001), air quality (OR 2.76, 95% CI 2.54-3.00, P < 0.001), low quality of drinking water (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.23-1.43, P < 0.001), crime and/or violence (OR 2.92, 95% CI 2.68-3.19, P < 0.001), rubbish (OR 3.68, 95% CI 3.41-3.97, P < 0.001) and traffic congestion (OR 2.64, 95% CI 2.45-2.85, P < 0.001). People who reported major problems on noise (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.96-2.45, P < 0.001), air quality (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.87-2.37, P < 0.001), low quality of drinking water (OR 2.40, 95% CI 2.14-2.68, P < 0.001), crime and/or violence (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.88-2.41, P < 0.001), rubbish (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.77-2.11, P < 0.001) and traffic congestion (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.34-1.68, P < 0.001) were also classified as having depression. Perceived neighborhood conditions were associated with adult mental health across Europe. Future neighborhood monitoring research moving from the etiological to neighborhood management would be suggested.

Estimated Effects of Potential Interventions to Prevent Decreases in Self-Rated Health Among Breast Cancer Survivors

To estimate the effect of hypothetical changes in modifiable predictors on the incidence of fair-to-poor self-rated health (SRH) in breast cancer survivors. In 2007-2008, we interviewed 832 breast cancer survivors 1 year after diagnosis (baseline) and 1 year later. First, multivariable logistic regression models estimated the association between the predictors (sociodemographic factors, access to medical care, comorbid conditions, psychosocial factors, perceived neighborhood conditions, cancer-related behaviors, clinical factors) and SRH. Second, we estimated the probabilities of fair-to-poor SRH for values of the predictors for each breast cancer survivor. Third, we estimated the population-wide effect of potential changes in modifiable predictors on the incidence of fair-to-poor SRH. A total of 7.6% of participants (92.4% white; mean age, 58.0 years) whose SRH was rated good-to-excellent at baseline reported fair-to-poor SRH 1 year later. The largest potential reduction in incidence of fair-to-poor SRH could be obtained by eliminating surgical side effects (27.8% reduction) and comorbidity (21.8% reduction) and by engaging in any physical activity (19.6% reduction). A significant portion of the decline in SRH can be avoided by reducing surgical side effects, preventing comorbidity, and improving physical activity with the use of evidence-based strategies.

Neighborhood foreclosures and self-rated health among breast cancer survivors

We determined the association of neighborhood foreclosure risk on the health status of a statewide sample of breast cancer survivors (n=1047) and the extent to which covariates accounted for observed associations. Measures of self-rated health and several covariates were obtained by telephone interview 1year after diagnosis. We used the federal Housing and Urban Development agency's estimated census-tract foreclosure-abandonment-risk score and multilevel, logistic regression to determine the association of foreclosure risk (high, moderate versus low) with self-rated health (fair-poor versus good, very good, excellent) and whether covariates could explain the observed association. Women who resided in high-foreclosure-risk (HFR) areas were 2.39 times (95% CI: 1.83-3.13) more likely to report being in fair-poor health than women who lived in low-foreclosure-risk areas. The odds ratio (OR) was reduced for women who lived in high-foreclosure-risk versus low-foreclosure-risk areas after adjusting for income (HFR OR: 1.78; 95% CI: 1.01-3.15), physical activity (HFR OR: 1.74; 95% CI: 0.98-3.08), and perceived neighborhood conditions (HFR OR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.02-3.05). Breast cancer survivors who lived in census tracts with high- versus low-foreclosure risk reported poorer health status. This association was explained by differences in household income, physical activity, and perceived neighborhood conditions.