title: Neighborhoods, social support, and african american adolescents' mental health outcomes: a multilevel path analysis.
abstract: This study explored how neighborhood characteristics may relate to African American adolescents' internalizing symptoms via adolescents' social support and perceptions of neighborhood cohesion. Participants included 571 urban, African American adolescents (52% female; M age = 17.8). A multilevel path analysis testing both direct and indirect effects of neighborhood characteristics on adolescents' mental health outcomes was conducted. Higher neighborhood poverty and unemployment rates predicted greater internalizing symptoms via lower cumulative social support and perceptions of neighborhood cohesion. In contrast, higher concentrations of African American and residentially stable residents in one's neighborhood related to fewer internalizing symptoms among adolescent residents via greater cumulative social support and perceptions of neighborhood cohesion. Implications of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. nh3v@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Noelle M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Hurd
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Stoddard
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010465:Perception; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health