title: Are feelings of peace or depression the drivers of the relationship between neighbourhood social fragmentation and mental health in Aotearoa/New Zealand?
abstract: Exploration of the influence of neighbourhood social context on supportive relationships and social cohesion is on the rise. Positive social contexts may be less stressful for residents, resulting in mental wellbeing and calmness; whereas negative contexts may increase stress and deleterious mental health. To examine this, we measured the relationship between an Index of Neighbourhood Social Fragmentation and overall mental well-being in New Zealand. Then we examined the influence of fragmentation on two components of mental health: depression and calmness. Increased fragmentation was significantly associated with lower mental health scores for the entire population and for females, with similar but insignificant trends for males. Increased fragmentation was associated with increased depression in both sexes, but not calmness. Depression rather than calmness may contribute to the observed association between fragmentation and overall mental health. Groups vulnerable to stressful social contexts may be prone to depression in fragmented neighbourhoods. Further examination of the specific aspects of living in fragmented neighbourhoods which increase depressive feelings is warranted.
authors: University of Otago, Wellington, Department of Public Health, 23A Mein Street, Wellington 6242, New Zealand. Electronic address: amber.pearson@otago.ac.nz.
authors: Amber L
authors: AL
authors: Pearson
authors: University of Otago, Wellington, Department of Public Health, 23A Mein Street, Wellington 6242, New Zealand. Electronic address: vivienne.ivory@otago.ac.nz.
authors: Vivienne
authors: V
authors: Ivory
authors: University of Canterbury, Department of Geography, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8013, New Zealand. Electronic address: gregory.breetzke@canterbury.ac.nz.
authors: Gregory
authors: G
authors: Breetzke
authors: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, 722W 168th Street, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: gl2225@columbia.edu.
authors: Gina S
authors: GS
authors: Lovasi
mesh_terms: D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009520:New Zealand; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012919:Social Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Calmness; Depression; Mental health; Social fragmentation; Support