Moving to opportunity: an experimental study of neighborhood effects on mental health.
OBJECTIVE
The health consequences of neighborhood poverty are a public health problem. Data were obtained to examine links between neighborhood residence and mental health outcomes.


METHODS
Moving to Opportunity was a randomized, controlled trial in which families from public housing in high-poverty neighborhoods were moved into private housing in near-poor or nonpoor neighborhoods, with a subset remaining in public housing. At the 3-year follow-up of the New York site, 550 families were reinterviewed.


RESULTS
Parents who moved to low-poverty neighborhoods reported significantly less distress than parents who remained in high-poverty neighborhoods. Boys who moved to less poor neighborhoods reported significantly fewer anxious/depressive and dependency problems than did boys who stayed in public housing.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides experimental evidence of neighborhood income effects on mental health.
Leventhal
Tama
T
National Center for Children and Families, Columbia University, 525 W. 120th Street, Box 39, New York, NY 10027, USA. tl91@columbia.edu
Brooks-Gunn
Jeanne
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D011632:Public Assistance; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000145:classification*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology*