title: Neighborhood environment and internalizing problems in African American children.
abstract: This study examines gender differences in the association between environment and internalizing problems in a sample of predominately African American schoolchildren. Internalizing problems was assessed using the Youth Self Report. Violence and alcohol and other drug (AOD) exposure subscales were created using observational assessments of neighborhood blocks. Logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between neighborhood environment and internalizing problems. For each AOD item present on the block the odds of internalizing problems among girls increased by 17% (OR = 1.17, CI: 1.01, 1.35, P = 0.039). The relationship was not significant among boys. Violence exposure did not predict internalizing problems in boys or girls. These preliminary findings suggest that primary school-aged girls' emotional well-being is more negatively impacted by deleterious environments. Future investigations will examine the relationship between deleterious neighborhood environments and internalizing problems as the children age into adolescence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. amilam@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Adam J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Milam
authors.forename: C Debra
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Furr-Holden
authors.forename: Damiya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Whitaker
authors.forename: Mieka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smart
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leaf
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cooley-Strickland
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health; D014505:Urban Population