IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v125y2015icp163-172.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Neighborhoods and adolescent health-risk behavior: An ecological network approach

Author

Listed:
  • Browning, Christopher R.
  • Soller, Brian
  • Jackson, Aubrey L.

Abstract

This study integrates insights from social network analysis, activity space perspectives, and theories of urban and spatial processes to present an novel approach to neighborhood effects on health-risk behavior among youth. We suggest spatial patterns of neighborhood residents' non-home routines may be conceptualized as ecological, or “eco”-networks, which are two-mode networks that indirectly link residents through socio-spatial overlap in routine activities. We further argue structural configurations of eco-networks are consequential for youth's behavioral health. In this study we focus on a key structural feature of eco-networks – the neighborhood-level extent to which household dyads share two or more activity locations, or eco-network reinforcement – and its association with two dimensions of health-risk behavior, substance use and delinquency/sexual activity. Using geographic data on non-home routine activity locations among respondents from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS), we constructed neighborhood-specific eco-networks by connecting sampled households to “activity clusters,” which are sets of spatially-proximate activity locations. We then measured eco-network reinforcement and examined its association with dimensions of adolescent health risk behavior employing a sample of 830 youth ages 12–17 nested in 65 census tracts. We also examined whether neighborhood-level social processes (collective efficacy and intergenerational closure) mediate the association between eco-network reinforcement and the outcomes considered. Results indicated eco-network reinforcement exhibits robust negative associations with both substance use and delinquency/sexual activity scales. Eco-network reinforcement effects were not explained by potential mediating variables. In addition to introducing a novel theoretical and empirical approach to neighborhood effects on youth, our findings highlight the importance of intersecting conventional routines for adolescent behavioral health.

Suggested Citation

  • Browning, Christopher R. & Soller, Brian & Jackson, Aubrey L., 2015. "Neighborhoods and adolescent health-risk behavior: An ecological network approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 163-172.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:125:y:2015:i:c:p:163-172
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.06.028
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614003967
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.06.028?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. Kwan, Mei-Po, 2009. "From place-based to people-based exposure measures," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1311-1313, November.
    2. Patrick Royston, 2004. "Multiple imputation of missing values," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(3), pages 227-241, September.
    3. Garry Robins & Malcolm Alexander, 2004. "Small Worlds Among Interlocking Directors: Network Structure and Distance in Bipartite Graphs," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 69-94, May.
    4. Inagami, Sanae & Cohen, Deborah A. & Finch, Brian K., 2007. "Non-residential neighborhood exposures suppress neighborhood effects on self-rated health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1779-1791, October.
    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. Du, Xi & Kim, Youn Kyoung, 2020. "Family functioning and adolescent behavior problems: A moderated mediation model of caregiver depression and neighborhood collective efficacy," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. O'Brien, Daniel T. & Farrell, Chelsea & Welsh, Brandon C., 2019. "Broken (windows) theory: A meta-analysis of the evidence for the pathways from neighborhood disorder to resident health outcomes and behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 272-292.

    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. Shearer, Cindy & Rainham, Daniel & Blanchard, Chris & Dummer, Trevor & Lyons, Renee & Kirk, Sara, 2015. "Measuring food availability and accessibility among adolescents: Moving beyond the neighbourhood boundary," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 322-330.
    2. Shareck, Martine & Kestens, Yan & Frohlich, Katherine L., 2014. "Moving beyond the residential neighborhood to explore social inequalities in exposure to area-level disadvantage: Results from the Interdisciplinary Study on Inequalities in Smoking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 106-114.
    3. Pengxiang Zhao & Mei-Po Kwan & Suhong Zhou, 2018. "The Uncertain Geographic Context Problem in the Analysis of the Relationships between Obesity and the Built Environment in Guangzhou," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Petteway, Ryan J. & Mujahid, Mahasin & Allen, Amani & Morello-Frosch, Rachel, 2019. "The body language of place: A new method for mapping intergenerational “geographies of embodiment” in place-health research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 51-63.
    5. Ivory, Vivienne C. & Blakely, Tony & Pearce, Jamie & Witten, Karen & Bagheri, Nasser & Badland, Hannah & Schofield, Grant, 2015. "Could strength of exposure to the residential neighbourhood modify associations between walkability and physical activity?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 232-241.
    6. Julie Vallée & Guillaume Le Roux & Basile Chaix & Yan Kestens & Pierre Chauvin, 2015. "The ‘constant size neighbourhood trap’ in accessibility and health studies," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(2), pages 338-357, February.
    7. Sharp, Gregory & Denney, Justin T. & Kimbro, Rachel T., 2015. "Multiple contexts of exposure: Activity spaces, residential neighborhoods, and self-rated health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 204-213.
    8. John Palmer & Thomas Espenshade & Frederic Bartumeus & Chang Chung & Necati Ozgencil & Kathleen Li, 2013. "New Approaches to Human Mobility: Using Mobile Phones for Demographic Research," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 1105-1128, June.
    9. Li, Jingjing & Kim, Changjoo & Sang, Sunhee, 2018. "Exploring impacts of land use characteristics in residential neighborhood and activity space on non-work travel behaviors," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 141-147.
    10. Harald Schoen, 2008. "Identity, Instrumental Self-Interest and Institutional Evaluations," European Union Politics, , vol. 9(1), pages 5-29, March.
    11. Julia S. Goldberg, 2011. "Identity Salience and Involvement among Resident and Nonresident Fathers," Working Papers 1323, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    12. John Bound & Michael F. Lovenheim & Sarah Turner, 2010. "Why Have College Completion Rates Declined? An Analysis of Changing Student Preparation and Collegiate Resources," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 129-157, July.
    13. von Hinke Kessler Scholder S, 2009. "Genetic Markers as Instrumental Variables: An Application to Child Fat Mass and Academic Achievement," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/25, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    14. Carattini, Stefano & Fankhauser, Sam & Gao, Jianjian & Gennaioli, Caterina & Panzarasa, Pietro, 2023. "What does network analysis teach us about international environmental cooperation?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    15. Elizabeth Washbrook & Paul Gregg & Carol Propper, 2014. "A decomposition analysis of the relationship between parental income and multiple child outcomes," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 177(4), pages 757-782, October.
    16. Jennifer March Augustine, 2016. "Exploring New Life Course Patterns of Mother’s Continuing Secondary and College Education," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(6), pages 727-755, December.
    17. Zsuzsa Blasko & Artur Pokropek & Joanna Sikora, 2018. "Science career plans of adolescents: patterns, trends and gender divides," JRC Research Reports JRC109135, Joint Research Centre.
    18. Sonia Bhalotra & Samantha Rawlings, 2013. "Gradients of the Intergenerational Transmission of Health in Developing Countries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(2), pages 660-672, May.
    19. Martine Audibert & Yong He & Jacky Mathonnat, 2013. "Two-Period Comparison of Healthcare Demand with Income Growth and Population Aging in Rural China: Implications for Adjustment of the Healthcare Supply and Development," Working Papers halshs-00846088, HAL.
    20. Stoddard, Pamela & Handley, Margaret A. & Vargas Bustamante, Arturo & Schillinger, Dean, 2011. "The influence of indigenous status and community indigenous composition on obesity and diabetes among Mexican adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(11), pages 1635-1643.

    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:125:y:2015:i:c:p:163-172. 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.