Perceived Neighborhood Quality Research Articles

Unique Effects of Perceived Neighborhood Physical Disorder and Social Cohesion on Episodic Memory and Semantic Fluency.

Objective measures of neighborhood quality are associated with physical and mental health outcomes for older adults, but the relationship between perceived neighborhood quality and cognitive health has not been fully explored. Furthermore, positive and negative neighborhood characteristics may influence cognition through different mechanisms. The present study aimed to determine whether perceptions of neighborhood quality predict cognitive functioning in two domains, above and beyond individual-level risk factors, in a nationally representative sample of older adults. Using cross-sectional weighted data from 13,919 participants aged 51 and older from the Health and Retirement Study, linear regression models tested independent associations between perceived neighborhood quality (physical disorder and social cohesion) and cognition (episodic memory and semantic verbal fluency), controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, chronic disease burden, and depressive symptoms. Interaction terms tested whether neighborhood social cohesion moderated the relationship between neighborhood physical disorder and each cognitive outcome. Perception of greater neighborhood physical disorder was significantly associated with worse episodic memory, while perception of lower neighborhood social cohesion was significantly associated with worse semantic fluency. There were no significant interactions between physical disorder and social cohesion. Results provide preliminary evidence for different mechanisms underlying associations between aspects of neighborhood quality and cognition (e.g., stress vs. social interaction). Additional intervention work is needed to determine whether improving neighborhood physical conditions and promoting social cohesion at the neighborhood level could reduce cognitive morbidity among older adults.

Mining Social Media to Measure Neighborhood Quality in the City of Atlanta

This article presents a model to classify perceptions of various Atlanta neighborhoods based on social media. Tweets were extracted using Twitter's API and categorized to determine 1) whether they are neighborhood related; 2) whether a positive or negative sentiment could be assigned, and 3) whether they belong to one of eight categories of neighborhood quality assessments. These eight categories are public safety, transportation, density, walkability, maintenance, aesthetics, open space, and quality of dining and entertainment venues. Tweets that were related to neighborhood quality and geo-tagged accounted for 4% of all filtered Tweets. Overall 49% of neighborhood perception related Tweets were extracted to create an indicator of perceived neighborhood quality. The study then compared the perception of neighborhoods from social media analysis with quantitative indicators of neighborhood quality.

Trajectories of perceived neighborhood quality across the life course: Sociodemographic determinants and implications for well-being

Neighborhoods are an important social context across the life course, with implications for well-being throughout adulthood. However, the capacity to select and/or alter one's neighborhood is dependent in part upon factors such as race, class, and gender. Cumulative advantage/disadvantage and cumulative inequality theory both anticipate growing disparities between the most and least advantaged over time, yet disagree on the a/symmetry of these divergent trajectories. This study analyzes three-wave longitudinal data from the National Study of Midlife Development in the United States (1995–2014) to examine whether trajectories of perceived neighborhood quality differ according to sociodemographic characteristics over a twenty-year period, and whether neighborhood quality influences individual well-being over the same timespan. Results indicate that (1) women, Black and other nonwhite residents, and renters report worse neighborhood quality than their peers; (2) perceived neighborhood quality declines with age for Black and poorly educated residents; (3) perceived neighborhood quality improves with age for highly educated residents; (4) the overall deficit in perceived neighborhood quality among renters is weaker for Black than for White residents, while the overall deficit in perceived neighborhood quality among the poorly educated is contingent upon their having children. Moreover, (5) perceived neighborhood quality predicts both life satisfaction and negative affect over two decades, though its influence on the latter was contingent upon owning or mortgaging one's home rather than renting. Overall, findings offer support for both cumulative advantage/disadvantage and cumulative inequality theory, and suggest implications for theory and future research.

PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESSORS AND HEALTH DURING MIDIFE

Midlife is an important period in the lifecourse trajectory and heath outcomes during this period can have long-term implications into late adulthood. Hence, it is important that modifiable factors relating to these health outcomes in midlife are identified. Psychosocial stressors influence physical and mental health outcomes; these experiences may have differential impacts during midlife. Further, understanding of these associations may offer insight into how they may impact health in midlife. Thus, the objective of this symposium is to highlight the influence of psychosocial stressors on health outcomes in midlife. All of the presentations use the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS) to examine the influence of psychosocial stress for each respective research inquiry. Parker and colleagues examine the association between everyday discrimination and executive function, and whether this association differs by age among a racially diverse sample of adults. Nkimbeng and colleagues discuss the relationship between everyday discrimination and generalized pain among middle-aged African American adults. Nersesian and colleagues discuss the relationship between perceived neighborhood quality and loneliness among middle-aged adults. Understanding the influence of psychosocial stressors on health in midlife may be useful in informing relevant interventions to thwart the negative impact of such stressors on health during midlife.

Cohort Differences in Mothers' Perceptions of Neighborhood Quality, Child Well-being, and Parental Strain, 1976-2002.

To examine differences in mothers' subjective experiences of child-rearing between two cohorts who lived in different eras of sociodemographic contexts and parenting norms. A resource perspective suggests that child-rearing experiences should be easier when mothers have a higher standard of living, higher education, and fewer children, as was the case for mothers in the 2000s compared with mothers in the 1970s. However, a cultural perspective indicates that the intensive mothering ideology, emerged in the 1980s, increased mothers' anxiety and stress over their children's safety and proper development. Data from two national samples of mothers with children between 6 and 12 years of age in the United States collected in 1976 and 2002 (N = 2,465) were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression models. Mothers in 2002 reported better neighborhood quality and better health of their children than mothers in 1976, even after sociodemographic advantages of mothers in 2002 relative to 1976 were taken into account. Despite these sociodemographic advantages of mothers in 2002, there was little difference in mothers' reports of their children's behavioral adjustments between the two cohorts. Furthermore, albeit among Whites only, mothers in 2002 reported more parental strain than did mothers in 1976. There was little variation in mothers' perceptions by socioeconomic status (as measured by a college degree). Our results support the idea of a stressed-moms phenomenon in the contemporary United States, particularly among Whites. Experts who advise parent education policy and programs should take into account the psychological burden of the current neoliberal emphasis on personal responsibility for raising children on individual mothers.

Money can’t buy love but can it buy peace? Evidence from the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE II)

Efforts to evaluate third-party peacebuilding interventions are welcome but many studies rely on experimental approaches that might be at odds with the theories that underpin the discipline. Rigorously evaluating interventions ill-suited to experimental analyses is just as important, however, especially when programmes adopt novel approaches. In this article, we employ an instrumental variables approach to evaluate one such intervention – the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PEACE II). Following contemporary peacebuilding theories, PEACE II disseminated funds to grassroots organizations via unique intermediate funding bodies and an innovative open competition. Splitting Northern Ireland into 582 wards, we merge panel data on individuals’ perceptions of neighbourhood quality with PEACE II’s accounts. One-stage analyses show that individuals in treatment regions report significantly elevated perceptions. Two-stage approaches, accounting for biases arising from the rollout method, show no significant relationship. Post-estimation analyses imply that funding did not reach areas with the poorest observable indicators. We thus remain agnostic on the effectiveness of the funded projects but conclude that, despite solid theoretical foundations, weaknesses in the application of these theories hampered potential positive impacts. Future interventions can learn from this and should ensure stronger ties between the theoretical base and how these theories are applied to funding disbursement. JEL Codes: O18; F35

Stress and health behaviors as potential mediators of the relationship between neighborhood quality and allostatic load

PurposeNeighborhood quality is associated with health. Increasingly, researchers are focusing on the mechanisms underlying that association, including the role of stress, risky health behaviors, and subclinical measures such as allostatic load (AL). MethodsThis study uses mixed-effects regression modeling to examine the association between two objective measures and one subjective measure of neighborhood quality and AL in an ethnically diverse population-based sample (N = 2706) from a medium-sized Texas city. We also examine whether several measures of psychological stress and health behaviors mediate any relationship between neighborhood quality and AL. ResultsIn this sample, all three separate measures of neighborhood quality were associated with individual AL (P < .01). However, only the subjective measure, perceived neighborhood quality, was associated with AL after adjusting for covariates. In mixed-effects multiple regression models there was no evidence of mediation by either stress or health behaviors. ConclusionsIn this study, only one measure of neighborhood quality was related to a measure of health, which contrasts with considerable previous research in this area. In this sample, neighborhood quality may affect AL through other mechanisms, or there may be other health-affecting factors is this area that share that overshadow local neighborhood variation.

Perceived Neighborhood Quality and HIV-related Stigma among African Diasporic Youth; Results from the African, Caribbean, and Black Youth (ACBY) Study.

Socio-environmental factors such as neighborhood quality are increasingly recognized drivers of HIV disparities. Additionally, HIV- related stigma heightens HIV vulnerability among youth in the African Diaspora. However, little research examines the intersection of neighborhood quality and HIV- related stigma. This study uses survey data (N=495) from African, Caribbean, and Black youth in a midsized city in Ontario, Canada to address this research deficit. Analysis of variance and multivariate ordinary least squares regressions were conducted to determine differences in HIV- related stigma by neighborhood quality, experiences of discrimination, HIV- knowledge, and demographic factors. Residents in more socially disordered neighborhoods (p&lt;.05), males (p&lt;.0001), African- Muslim youth (p&lt;.01), and individuals with lower HIV- knowledge (p&lt;.0001) endorsed stigmatizing beliefs more often. Addressing neighborhood disadvantage may have implications for HIV- related stigma. More research should be conducted to understand the impact of socio- environmental disadvantage and HIV- related stigma.

Subjective neighborhood assessment and physical inactivity: An examination of neighborhood-level variance

Research suggests a linkage between perceptions of neighborhood quality and the likelihood of engaging in leisure-time physical activity. Often in these studies, intra-neighborhood variance is viewed as something to be controlled for statistically. However, we hypothesized that intra-neighborhood variance in perceptions of neighborhood quality may be contextually relevant. We examined the relationship between intra-neighborhood variance of subjective neighborhood quality and neighborhood-level reported physical inactivity across 48 neighborhoods within a medium-sized city, Texas City, Texas using survey data from 2706 residents collected between 2004 and 2006.Neighborhoods where the aggregated perception of neighborhood quality was poor also had a larger proportion of residents reporting being physically inactive. However, higher degrees of disagreement among residents within neighborhoods about their neighborhood quality was significantly associated with a lower proportion of residents reporting being physically inactive (p=0.001). Our results suggest that intra-neighborhood variability may be contextually relevant in studies seeking to better understand the relationship between neighborhood quality and behaviors sensitive to neighborhood environments, like physical activity.

Perceived neighborhood quality, family processes, and trajectories of child and adolescent externalizing behaviors in the United States

RationaleExternalizing behavior problems are common among children and adolescents, and have considerable negative impacts on their long-term health and wellbeing. Substantial evidence supports a link between neighborhood conditions and externalizing behaviors. However, the timing of neighborhood effects on the developmental course of externalizing behaviors and the role of family and peer processes in shaping neighborhood effects remains unclear. ObjectiveThe current study aims to examine the relationship between perceived neighborhood quality and trajectories of child externalizing behaviors in a U.S. nationally representative cohort, focusing on the timing of neighborhood effects and the role of family and peer processes in mediating these effects. MethodsThe study included 3563 children who participated in three consecutive waves of Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics in 1997, 2002 and 2007. In a latent growth curve model (LGCM), we estimated trajectories of externalizing behaviors and the effects of perceived neighborhood quality on the trajectories, using parental, family and peer processes as potential mediators. ResultsAt baseline, better neighborhood quality was moderately associated with fewer externalizing behaviors among seven-to twelve-year-olds, but was not associated with externalizing behaviors among children six years and younger. During follow-up, better neighborhood quality was associated with small decreases in externalizing behaviors, primarily mediated by lower levels of parental distress and family conflict. ConclusionsThis study suggests that better perceived neighborhood quality contributes to fewer externalizing behaviors throughout childhood and adolescence, and that parental distress and family conflict are the main mediators of these effects. Given the pervasiveness of exposure to adverse neighborhood conditions, efforts to reduce concentrated poverty and improve neighborhood environments may improve children and adolescents’ mental health at the population level.

Association of On-Post and Off-Post Resources With Perception of Residential Neighborhood Quality in U.S. Army Families

ABSTRACTThis study examined the relationship of on- and off-post resources to perceived residential neighborhood quality in 432 soldiers and their spouses from the four largest U.S. Army installations. Participants completed a questionnaire that measured one important element of perceived neighborhood quality (social cohesion/interrelatedness) and the extent to which community resources met the needs of military families. Higher levels of perceived on- and off-post resources were independently related to greater perceived neighborhood quality. After adjusting for demographics and off-post resources, on-post resources continued to be associated with perceived neighborhood quality (B = .17, p ≤ .01). Access to diverse, high-quality, and readily available community resources, particularly on-post, may enhance perceived neighborhood quality and strengthen military communities.

Association between perceived neighborhood environment and health of middle-aged women living in rapidly changing urban Mongolia

BackgroundThis study was conducted in rapidly urbanizing Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to examine patterns of perceived neighborhood quality by residents and the associations between these patterns and self-reported general and mental health in middle-aged women.MethodsA questionnaire survey was administered to 960 women aged 40–60 years. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics, subjects’ perception of their neighborhood environment, general health status, and mental health as measured using a 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) were reported.ResultsA total of 830 women completed the questionnaire. Subjects reporting their general health as very good or good accounted for 80.3% and those with a GHQ12 ≥16, which reflects psychological distress or severe distress, accounted for 16.1%. A principal component analysis of the perceptions of neighborhood environment by the residents identified six qualities: physical environment, designed environment, neighborhood community, public safety, natural environment, and citizen services. The perception of better-quality citizen services in the neighborhood was associated with better self-reported general health (odds ratio [OR] = 1.330, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.093–1.618), and the perception of better-quality public safety was associated with less psychological distress (OR = 0.718, 95% CI 0.589–0.876); these associations were independent of education, income, occupation, type of residential area, and number of years living in the current khoroo.ConclusionsThe perception of the quality of a neighborhood environment can affect the self-reported general and mental health of residents, even after accounting for the type of residential area and individual socio-economic status. Developing high-quality neighborhoods is an essential component of good planning to promote population health in urban environments.

Urban and non-urban differences in community living and participation among individuals with serious mental illnesses

Despite a wealth of studies examining the relationship between urbanicity (i.e., living in an urban area) and psychological distress, there is a paucity of research examining the relationship between urbanicity, community living, and community participation of adults with serious mental illnesses. This study addresses this knowledge gap by assessing urban and non-urban differences in community participation, sense of community, mental health stigma, and perceptions of the neighborhood environment among individuals with serious mental illnesses living independently throughout the United States. A total of 300 individuals with serious mental illnesses recruited from 21 outpatient mental health service organizations in 15 states completed a phone survey about their community living and participation experiences. Urbanicity was examined at two spatial scales (block group and county), and independent-samples t-tests were employed to assess urban and non-urban differences in community living and participation variables. Levels of community participation and perceptions of neighborhood quality and crime were higher in urban block groups; sense of community was higher in urban counties; and perceptions of mental health stigma were higher in non-urban counties. Results inform the methodological literature on best practices for assessing urbanicity, as well as interventions aimed at increasing community participation and improving aspects of the built and social environment that affect individuals who experience mental health distress.

Perceived Neighborhood Safety Better Predicts Risk of Mortality for Whites than Blacks.

The current study had two aims: (1) to investigate whether single-item measures of subjective evaluation of neighborhood (i.e., perceived neighborhood safety and quality) predict long-term risk of mortality and (2) to test whether these associations depend on race and gender. The data came from the Americans' Changing Lives Study (ACL), 1986-2011, a nationally representative longitudinal cohort of 3361 Black and White adults in the USA. The main predictors of interest were perceived neighborhood safety and perceived neighborhood quality, as measured in 1986 using single items and treated as dichotomous variables. Mortality due to all internal and external causes was the main outcome. Confounders included baseline age, socioeconomic status (education, income), health behaviors (smoking, drinking, and exercise), and health (chronic medical conditions, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms). Race and gender were focal effect modifiers. Cox proportional hazard models were ran in the pooled sample and stratified by race and gender. In the pooled sample, low perceived neighborhood safety and quality predicted increased risk of mortality due to all causes as well as internal causes, net of all covariates. Significant interaction was found between race and perceived neighborhood safety on all-cause mortality, indicating a stronger association for Whites compared to Blacks. Race did not interact with perceived neighborhood quality on mortality. Gender also did not interact with perceived neighborhood safety or quality on mortality. Perceived neighborhood safety and quality were not associated with mortality due to external causes. Findings suggest that single items are appropriate for the measurement of perceived neighborhood safety and quality. Our results also suggest that perceived neighborhood safety better predicts increased risk of mortality over the course of 25years among Whites than Blacks.

Neighborhoods and Parenting

The present study examines the relationship between neighborhood quality and parental monitoring of youth aged 10 to 18 ( N = 1,630) from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Multiple measures of the neighborhood, including parents’ perceptions of quality, structure (i.e., poverty and affluence), and social organization (i.e., collective efficacy), are examined to gain a deeper understanding of how neighborhoods influence parenting. Parental monitoring is assessed through two separate measures: parents’ knowledge of their youth’s friends and whereabouts and having rules to regulate after-school activities. Bivariate models show that parents’ perceptions of neighborhood quality are differentially related to each aspect of parental monitoring, but these relationships are accounted for by child/family characteristics. Collective efficacy, however, remains positively tied to both aspects of parental monitoring. Social organization is also more strongly associated with parental monitoring than neighborhood structure. The policy implications of these findings for youth are discussed.

In these spaces: Perceived neighborhood quality as a protective factor against discrimination for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults.

In these spaces: Perceived neighborhood quality as a protective factor against discrimination for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults.

Perceived Neighborhood Quality and Cancer Screening Behavior: Evidence from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin.

Socioeconomic disparities in colorectal and breast cancer screening persist, partially accounting for disparities in cancer outcomes. Some neighborhood characteristics--particularly area level socioeconomic factors--have been linked to cancer screening behavior, but few studies have examined the relationship between perceived neighborhood quality and screening behavior, which may provide more insight into the ways in which neighborhood environments shape cancer related behaviors. This study examines the relationship between several aspects of the perceived neighborhood environment and breast and colorectal cancer screening behavior among a population-based sample of Wisconsin residents. A sub-goal was to compare the relevance of different perceived neighborhood factors for different screening tests. This is a cross-sectional study of 2008-2012 data from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin, a population-based annual survey of Wisconsin residents. An average risk sample of Black, Hispanic and White women age 50 and older (n = 1265) were selected. Survey regression analyses examined predictors of screening, as well as adherence to screening guidelines. Models controlled for individual socio-demographic information and insurance status. Perceptions of social and physical disorder, including fear of crime and visible garbage, were associated with screening rates. Findings emphasize the particular importance of these factors for colorectal cancer screening, indicating the necessity of improving screening rates in areas characterized by social disorganization, crime, and physical disorder. Additional work should be done to further investigate the pathways that explain the linkage between neighborhood conditions, perceived neighborhood risks and cancer screening behavior.

Association of Mothers' Perception of Neighborhood Quality and Maternal Resilience with Risk of Preterm Birth.

We examined the associations of mothers’ perception of neighborhood quality and maternal resilience with risk of preterm birth and whether maternal resilience moderated the effect of neighborhood quality perception. We analyzed data from 10,758 women with singleton births who participated in 2010–2012 Los Angeles Mommy and Baby surveys. Multilevel logistic regression models assessed the effects of mothers’ perception of neighborhood quality and maternal resilience on preterm birth (yes/no), controlling for potential confounders and economic hardship index, a city-level measure of neighborhood quality. Interaction terms were assessed for moderation. Mothers’ perception of neighborhood quality and maternal resilience were each uniquely associated with preterm birth, independent of potential confounders (p-values < 0.05). The risk of preterm birth among mothers who perceived their neighborhood as of poor quality was about 30% greater compared to mothers who perceived their neighborhood as of good quality; the risk was 12% greater among mothers with low resilience compared to those with high resilience. Effects of neighborhood quality were not modified by maternal resilience. The findings suggest that mothers’ perception of neighborhood quality and resilience are associated with the risk of preterm birth. Further research should explore whether initiatives aimed at improving neighborhood quality and women’s self-esteem may improve birth outcomes.

Where You Live May Make You Old: The Association between Perceived Poor Neighborhood Quality and Leukocyte Telomere Length.

BackgroundStrong evidence supports that living in disadvantaged neighborhoods has direct unfavorable impact on mental and physical health. However, whether it also has direct impact on cellular health is largely unknown. Thus we examined whether neighborhood quality was associated with leukocyte telomere length, an indicator of cellular aging.MethodsIn May 2014, we extracted and analyzed baseline data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), a large epidemiological study of individuals age between 18–65 years (n=2902). Telomere length was determined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Neighborhood quality was assessed using modified measures of perceived neighborhood disorder, fear of crime, and noise. We used multivariable linear regression models to examine association between perceived neighborhood quality and telomere length with comprehensive adjustment for individual and community characteristics related to socioeconomic and demographic status, urbanization level, mental and physical health, and lifestyle.ResultsCompared to individuals who reported good neighborhood quality, the mean telomere length of those who reported moderate neighborhood quality was approximately 69 base pair shorter (β =-69.33, 95% CI: -119.49, -19.17, p= 0.007), and that of those who reported poor neighborhood quality were 174 base pair shorter (β =-173.80, 95% CI: -298.80, -49.01, p=0.006). For illustrative purposes, one could extrapolate these outcomes to 8.7 and 11.9 years in chronological age, respectively.ConclusionWe have established an association between perceived neighborhood quality and cellular aging over and above a range of individual attributes. Biological aging processes may be impacted by socioeconomic milieu.

Predictors of life satisfaction among Asian American adolescents- analysis of add health data.

Life satisfaction correlates with adolescent risk taking behavior and their outcomes in adulthood. Despite the fast rise in numbers of Asian adolescents in the U.S., the predictors of their life satisfaction are not well understood. This study examined the relationship between several demographic and contextual factors and global life satisfaction among this population. Data were derived from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative probability sample of US adolescents. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was conducted to evaluate hypothesized predictors of global life satisfaction of Asian American adolescents. All analyses were conducted using STATA version 11. After exclusion of cases with missing values, 1021 Asian American adolescents were studied. Self- rated health, self-esteem, perceived neighborhood quality, parental support and peer support were significantly and positively related to better global life satisfaction. However, after controlling for other factors, only self-esteem (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 4.76; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.86-8.33) and perceived peer support (aOR: 2.76; 95% CI: 1.33-5.76) significantly predicted higher life satisfaction. Peer support and adolescents’ self-concept are strongly correlated with Asian American adolescents’ subjective well-being. To promote the wellness of this population, culturally sensitive strategies in developing peer relationship and healthy self-concept may be effective. More studies are needed for subgroup comparison of various ethnicities among Asian American adolescents.