Cohesive Neighborhoods Where Social Expectations Are Shared May Have Positive Impact On Adolescent Mental Health.
Adolescent mental health problems are associated with poor health and well-being in adulthood. We used data from a cohort of 2,264 children born in large US cities in 1998-2000 to examine whether neighborhood collective efficacy (a combination of social cohesion and control) is associated with improvements in adolescent mental health. We found that children who grew up in neighborhoods with high collective efficacy experienced fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms during adolescence than similar children from neighborhoods with low collective efficacy. The magnitude of this neighborhood effect is comparable to the protective effects of depression prevention programs aimed at general or at-risk adolescent populations. Our findings did not vary by family or neighborhood income, which indicates that neighborhood collective efficacy supports adolescent mental health across diverse populations and urban settings. We recommend a greater emphasis on neighborhood environments in individual mental health risk assessments and greater investment in community-based initiatives that strengthen neighborhood social cohesion and control.
Louis Donnelly (louisjd@princeton.edu) is a postdoctoral research associate in the Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University, in New Jersey.
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Sara McLanahan is a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University.
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Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is a professor of child development at Teachers College and College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, in New York City.
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Irwin Garfinkel is a professor of contemporary urban problems at the School of Social Work, Columbia University.
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Brandon G. Wagner is an assistant professor of sociology at Texas Tech University, in Lubbock.
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Wade C. Jacobsen is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Pennsylvania State University, in University Park.
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Sarah Gold is a doctoral candidate in social work at the School of Social Work at Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
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Lauren Gaydosh is a postdoctoral scholar at the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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D000293:Adolescent; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012931:Social Environment; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population
Children’s Health; Demography; Determinants Of Health; Disparities; Mental Health/Substance Abuse