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Social Integration may Moderate the Relationship between Neighborhood Vacancy and Mental Health Outcomes: Initial Evidence from Flint, Michigan

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Abstract

Long-term residence in neighborhoods is thought to promote the development and maintenance of supportive relationships and trust. These strong social ties may, however, be limited in communities in post-industrial cities characterized by high levels of vacant properties. This study aimed to examine the relationship between neighborhood vacancy and mental health with adjustment for length of residence and possible moderation by social (dis)integration in a sample of Flint, MI, residents. We found that short-term (but not long-term) increases in neighborhood vacancy were associated with poorer mental health, after adjustment for individual covariates. When considering neighborhood vacancy, length of residence and individual covariates, however, the only significant association detected was between higher social disintegration and lower wellbeing. This effect was direct and not mediated by other factors. In this way, it appears that the social conditions of neighborhoods may be important, particularly in places that have experienced declines in the built environment. In addition, we identified evidence that social integration moderates the relationship between neighborhood vacancy and mental health outcomes. The level of neighborhood vacancies had a weaker relationship to wellbeing among those with higher levels of social ties. But none of the independent variables in our study were able to predict social integration, highlighting some potential areas for future research. From these findings, we posit that establishing strong social connections can buffer residents against negative mental health outcomes, and health promotion efforts could usefully assist in maintaining social ties among neighbors.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge Amanda Rzotkiewicz for her assistance with manuscript components.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Amber L. Pearson & Richard C. Sadler

  2. Environmental Science and Policy Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Amber L. Pearson

  3. Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand

    Amber L. Pearson

  4. Department of Family Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Richard C. Sadler

  5. Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Daniel J. Kruger

Authors
  1. Amber L. Pearson
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  2. Richard C. Sadler
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  3. Daniel J. Kruger
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Contributions

ALP conceived of the study, with collaboration with RCS. STYH committee obtained funding for the survey collection, processing, and data entry. RCS led spatial analyses on neighborhood vacancy rates. ALP conducted statistical analyses. DJK designed the survey instrument, data collection procedures, and provided feedback on study design. ALP, RCS, and DJK drafted the manuscript. All authors read, edited, and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amber L. Pearson.

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Pearson, A.L., Sadler, R.C. & Kruger, D.J. Social Integration may Moderate the Relationship between Neighborhood Vacancy and Mental Health Outcomes: Initial Evidence from Flint, Michigan. Applied Research Quality Life 14, 1129–1144 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9646-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9646-8

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