IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v111y2014icp117-124.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Neighborhoods and mental health: Exploring ethnic density, poverty, and social cohesion among Asian Americans and Latinos

Author

Listed:
  • Hong, Seunghye
  • Zhang, Wei
  • Walton, Emily

Abstract

This study examines the associations of neighborhood ethnic density and poverty with social cohesion and self-rated mental health among Asian Americans and Latinos. Path analysis is employed to analyze data from the 2002–2003 National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) and the 2000 U.S. Census (N = 2095 Asian Americans living in N = 259 neighborhoods; N = 2554 Latinos living in N = 317 neighborhoods). Findings reveal that neighborhood ethnic density relates to poor mental health in both groups. Social cohesion partially mediates that structural relationship, but is positively related to ethnic density among Latinos and negatively related to ethnic density among Asian Americans. Although higher neighborhood poverty is negatively associated with mental health for both groups, the relationship does not hold in the path models after accounting for social cohesion and covariates. Furthermore, social cohesion fully mediates the association between neighborhood poverty and mental health among Latinos. This study highlights the necessity of reconceptualizing existing theories of social relationships to reflect complex and nuanced mechanisms linking neighborhood structure and mental health for diverse racial and ethnic groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Hong, Seunghye & Zhang, Wei & Walton, Emily, 2014. "Neighborhoods and mental health: Exploring ethnic density, poverty, and social cohesion among Asian Americans and Latinos," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 117-124.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:111:y:2014:i:c:p:117-124
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.04.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795361400238X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.04.014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Williams, D.R. & Neighbors, H.W. & Jackson, J.S., 2003. "Racial/ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(2), pages 200-208.
    2. Mair, Christina & Diez Roux, Ana V. & Osypuk, Theresa L. & Rapp, Stephen R. & Seeman, Teresa & Watson, Karol E., 2010. "Is neighborhood racial/ethnic composition associated with depressive symptoms? The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 541-550, August.
    3. Viruell-Fuentes, E.A. & Morenoff, J.D. & Williams, D.R. & House, J.S., 2011. "Language of interview, self-rated health, and the other Latino health puzzle," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(7), pages 1306-1313.
    4. Takeuchi, D.T. & Zane, N. & Hong, S. & Chae, D.H. & Gong, F. & Gee, G.C. & Walton, E. & Sue, S. & Alegría, M., 2007. "Immigration-related factors and mental disorder among Asian Americans," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(1), pages 84-90.
    5. Silver, Eric & Mulvey, Edward P. & Swanson, Jeffrey W., 2002. "Neighborhood structural characteristics and mental disorder: Faris and Dunham revisited," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(8), pages 1457-1470, October.
    6. Jackson, S.A. & Anderson, R.T. & Johnson, N.J. & Sorlie, P.D., 2000. "The relation of residential segregation to all-cause mortality: A study in black and white," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 90(4), pages 615-617.
    7. Drukker, Marjan & Kaplan, Charles & Feron, Frans & van Os, Jim, 2003. "Children's health-related quality of life, neighbourhood socio-economic deprivation and social capital. A contextual analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(5), pages 825-841, September.
    8. Gee, G.C., 2002. "A multilevel analysis of the relationship between institutional and individual racial discrimination and health status," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(4), pages 615-623.
    9. Zhang, Wei & Ta, Van M., 2009. "Social connections, immigration-related factors, and self-rated physical and mental health among Asian Americans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2104-2112, June.
    10. Cattell, Vicky, 2001. "Poor people, poor places, and poor health: the mediating role of social networks and social capital," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(10), pages 1501-1516, May.
    11. Bécares, L. & Shaw, R. & Nazroo, J. & Stafford, M. & Albor, C. & Atkin, K. & Kiernan, K. & Wilkinson, R. & Pickett, K., 2012. "Ethnic density effects on physical morbidity, mortality, and health behaviors: A systematic review of the literature," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(12), pages 33-66.
    12. Kandula, N.R. & Wen, M. & Jacobs, E.A. & Lauderdale, D.S., 2009. "Association between neighborhood context and smoking prevalence among Asian Americans," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(5), pages 885-892.
    13. Eschbach, K. & Ostir, G.V. & Patel, K.V. & Markides, K.S. & Goodwin, J.S., 2004. "Neighborhood context and mortality among older Mexican Americans: Is there a barrio advantage?," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(10), pages 1807-1812.
    14. Mulvaney-Day, Norah E. & Alegría, Margarita & Sribney, William, 2007. "Social cohesion, social support, and health among Latinos in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 477-495, January.
    15. Mario Luis Small, 2007. "Racial Differences in Networks: Do Neighborhood Conditions Matter?," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 88(2), pages 320-343, June.
    16. Shaw, R.J. & Pickett, K.E. & Wilkinson, R.G., 2010. "Ethnic density effects on birth outcomes and maternal smoking during pregnancy in the US linked birth and infant death data set," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(4), pages 707-713.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Held, Mary Lehman & First, Jennifer M. & Huslage, Melody & Holzer, Marie, 2022. "Policy stress and social support: Mental health impacts for Latinx Adults in the Southeast United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    2. Ling Zhang & Junfeng Jiang & Peigang Wang, 2021. "Social cohesion associated with health mediated by emotional experience and life satisfaction: Evidence from the internal migrants in China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 1285-1303, June.
    3. Eileen E. Avery & Joan M. Hermsen & Danielle C. Kuhl, 2021. "Toward a Better Understanding of Perceptions of Neighborhood Social Cohesion in Rural and Urban Places," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 523-541, September.
    4. Boje-Kovacs, Bence & Greve, Jane & Weatherall, Cecilie D., 2024. "Ethnic networks in neighborhoods affect mental health: Evidence from a quasi-random assignment of applicants in the public social housing system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).
    5. Vânia Rocha & Ana Isabel Ribeiro & Milton Severo & Henrique Barros & Sílvia Fraga, 2017. "Neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation and health-related quality of life: A multilevel analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Plascak, Jesse J. & Molina, Yamile & Wu-Georges, Samantha & Idris, Ayah & Thompson, Beti, 2016. "Latino residential segregation and self-rated health among Latinos: Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2012–2014," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 38-47.
    7. Teo, Celine & Chum, Antony, 2020. "The effect of neighbourhood cohesion on mental health across sexual orientations: A longitudinal study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    8. Cook, Won Kim & Tseng, Winston & Tam, Christina & John, Iyanrick & Lui, Camillia, 2017. "Ethnic-group socioeconomic status as an indicator of community-level disadvantage: A study of overweight/obesity in Asian American adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 15-22.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Franzini, Luisa & Caughy, Margaret & Spears, William & Eugenia Fernandez Esquer, Maria, 2005. "Neighborhood economic conditions, social processes, and self-rated health in low-income neighborhoods in Texas: A multilevel latent variables model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 1135-1150, September.
    2. Johnston, David W. & Lordan, Grace, 2012. "Discrimination makes me sick! An examination of the discrimination–health relationship," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 99-111.
    3. McNeill, Lorna Haughton & Kreuter, Matthew W. & Subramanian, S.V., 2006. "Social Environment and Physical activity: A review of concepts and evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 1011-1022, August.
    4. Yang, Tse-Chuan & Shoff, Carla & Noah, Aggie J. & Black, Nyesha & Sparks, Corey S., 2014. "Racial segregation and maternal smoking during pregnancy: A multilevel analysis using the racial segregation interaction index," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 26-36.
    5. Boje-Kovacs, Bence & Greve, Jane & Weatherall, Cecilie D., 2024. "Ethnic networks in neighborhoods affect mental health: Evidence from a quasi-random assignment of applicants in the public social housing system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 345(C).
    6. Shell, Alyssa Marie & Peek, M. Kristen & Eschbach, Karl, 2013. "Neighborhood Hispanic composition and depressive symptoms among Mexican-descent residents of Texas City, Texas," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 56-63.
    7. Harris, Ricci & Tobias, Martin & Jeffreys, Mona & Waldegrave, Kiri & Karlsen, Saffron & Nazroo, James, 2006. "Racism and health: The relationship between experience of racial discrimination and health in New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 1428-1441, September.
    8. Liat Ayalon, 2018. "Perceived Age Discrimination: A Precipitator or a Consequence of Depressive Symptoms?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(5), pages 860-869.
    9. Samson, Frank L., 2015. "Racial resentment and smoking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 164-168.
    10. Zhang, Wei & Ta, Van M., 2009. "Social connections, immigration-related factors, and self-rated physical and mental health among Asian Americans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2104-2112, June.
    11. Lee, Min-Ah, 2009. "Neighborhood residential segregation and mental health: A multilevel analysis on Hispanic Americans in Chicago," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 1975-1984, June.
    12. Gee, Gilbert C. & Spencer, Michael & Chen, Juan & Yip, Tiffany & Takeuchi, David T., 2007. "The association between self-reported racial discrimination and 12-month DSM-IV mental disorders among Asian Americans nationwide," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 1984-1996, May.
    13. Kane, Robert J., 2011. "The ecology of unhealthy places: Violence, birthweight, and the importance of territoriality in structurally disadvantaged communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(11), pages 1585-1592.
    14. Li, Kelin & Wen, Ming & Henry, Kevin A., 2017. "Ethnic density, immigrant enclaves, and Latino health risks: A propensity score matching approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 44-52.
    15. Fernando Riosmena & Randall Kuhn & Warren C. Jochem, 2017. "Explaining the Immigrant Health Advantage: Self-selection and Protection in Health-Related Factors Among Five Major National-Origin Immigrant Groups in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 175-200, February.
    16. Shik, Angela W.Y., 2013. "Integrating creative art into a community-based mental health program for Asian American transition age youth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 377-383.
    17. Tianyuan Luo & Genti Kostandini, 2023. "Omnibus or Ominous immigration laws? Immigration policy and mental health of the Hispanic population," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 90-106, January.
    18. Nan Zhang & Jennifer L. Beauregard & Michael R. Kramer & Laia Bécares, 2017. "Neighbourhood Ethnic Density Effects on Behavioural and Cognitive Problems Among Young Racial/Ethnic Minority Children in the US and England: A Cross-National Comparison," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 36(5), pages 761-804, October.
    19. Cook, Won Kim & Tseng, Winston & Tam, Christina & John, Iyanrick & Lui, Camillia, 2017. "Ethnic-group socioeconomic status as an indicator of community-level disadvantage: A study of overweight/obesity in Asian American adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 15-22.
    20. Yang, Tse-Chuan & Chen, I-Chien & Choi, Seung-won & Kurtulus, Aysenur, 2019. "Linking perceived discrimination during adolescence to health during mid-adulthood: Self-esteem and risk-behavior mechanisms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 434-443.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:111:y:2014:i:c:p:117-124. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.