Abstract
Neighborhood stressors are associated with depressive symptoms and are more likely to be experienced in poor, non-White neighborhoods. Neighborhood stress process theory suggests that neighborhood stressor affect mental health through personal coping resources, such as mastery. Mastery is thought to be both a pathway and a buffer of the ill effects of neighborhood stressors. This research examines the neighborhood stress process with a focus on racial and ethnic differences in the relationship between neighborhood stressors, mastery, and depressive symptoms in a multi-ethnic sample of Chicago residents. Findings suggest race-specific effects on depressive symptoms. Mastery is found to be a pathway from neighborhood stressors to depressive symptoms but not a buffer against neighborhood stressors. Mastery is most beneficial to Whites and those living in low stress neighborhoods.
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Acknowledgements
The Chicago Community Adult Health study was supported by funds from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P50HD38986 and R01HD050467). The author was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (T32HD049302). The author would like to thank Steph Robert, Jason Houle, Amy Butler as well as members of the Chicago Community Adult Health research group, especially Jeff Morenoff, Jim House, and Jennifer Ailshire, for comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.
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Appendix Perceived neighborhood stressor component scale items
Appendix Perceived neighborhood stressor component scale items
Questions/data source | |
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Neighborhood disorder | How much broken glass or trash on sidewalks and streets do you see in your neighborhood? |
How much graffiti do you see on buildings and walls in your neighborhood? | |
How many vacant or deserted houses or storefronts do you see in your neighborhood? | |
How often do you see people drinking in public places in your neighborhood? | |
How often do you see unsupervised children hanging out on the street in your neighborhood? | |
Neighborhood hazards | How would you rate the quality of air in this neighborhood? |
How often do you see rats, mice, or roaches in your neighborhood? | |
How dangerous do you think traffic is in your neighborhood either to people driving in cars or walking on the street? | |
How noisy would you say your neighborhood is? | |
How often do you encounter potentially toxic substances in your neighborhood? | |
Perceived violence | During the past six months, how often was there a fight in this neighborhood in which a weapon was used? |
A violent argument between neighbors? | |
Gang fights? | |
A sexual assault or rape? | |
A robbery or mugging? | |
Services | How would rate your neighborhood on its accessibility to parks or other areas where people can jog and exercise or kids can play? |
How would you rate the quality of street cleaning and garbage collection in this neighborhood? |
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Gilster, M.E. Neighborhood Stressors, Mastery, and Depressive Symptoms: Racial and Ethnic Differences in an Ecological Model of the Stress Process in Chicago. J Urban Health 91, 690–706 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-014-9877-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-014-9877-4