IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v237y2019ic19.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Community disadvantage, inequalities in adolescent subjective well-being, and local social relations: The role of positive and negative social interactions

Author

Listed:
  • Laurence, James

Abstract

Studies identify the existence of inequalities in adolescent subjective well-being (SWB) across levels of community socio-economic disadvantage. One posited explanation is that community disadvantage harms SWB through undermining positive social relations among residents (often termed social capital). However, social relations can be both positive and negative; for example, social interactions between residents can be friendly or unfriendly, or involve being helped or harmed. Little work has explored negative social relations in communities and their impact on SWB. This study therefore examines the role that local negative social relations may play, alongside positive relations, in understanding inequalities in SWB across communities. Data are taken from a nationally representative survey of 16–17-year olds in England in 2015. Applying multilevel models, findings demonstrate that adolescents living in more disadvantaged communities exhibit lower SWB. In line with current theories, part of this association can be accounted for by weaker positive social relations: the results show that while positive local interactions are important for youth SWB (primarily via higher neighbour trust), young people in more disadvantaged communities report fewer local positive social interactions. However, the models also demonstrate that part of the negative association between community disadvantage and SWB is also accounted for by stronger negative social relations: the results show that negative local interactions are harmful for youth SWB (both directly, and indirectly via lower neighbour-trust), and young people in disadvantaged communities report more frequent negative local social interactions. Importantly, the negative indirect-effect of community disadvantage via increasing negative social interactions is almost twice as strong as the negative indirect-effect of disadvantage via reducing positive interactions. Taken together, community disadvantage appears to harm SWB not only by reducing positive relations but also increasing negative relations. These form dual, independent, social relations pathways through which community disadvantage affects SWB.

Suggested Citation

  • Laurence, James, 2019. "Community disadvantage, inequalities in adolescent subjective well-being, and local social relations: The role of positive and negative social interactions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:237:y:2019:i:c:19
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112442
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619304368
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112442?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. Aminzadeh, Kaveh & Denny, Simon & Utter, Jennifer & Milfont, Taciano L. & Ameratunga, Shanthi & Teevale, Tasileta & Clark, Terryann, 2013. "Neighbourhood social capital and adolescent self-reported wellbeing in New Zealand: A multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 13-21.
    2. Natalia Letki, 2008. "Does Diversity Erode Social Cohesion? Social Capital and Race in British Neighbourhoods," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56, pages 99-126, March.
    3. 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.
    4. De Clercq, B. & Vyncke, V. & Hublet, A. & Elgar, F.J. & Ravens-Sieberer, U. & Currie, C. & Hooghe, M. & Ieven, A. & Maes, L., 2012. "Social capital and social inequality in adolescents’ health in 601 Flemish communities: A multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 202-210.
    5. Wen, Ming & Browning, Christopher R. & Cagney, Kathleen A., 2003. "Poverty, affluence, and income inequality: neighborhood economic structure and its implications for health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(5), pages 843-860, September.
    6. Ludwig, Jens & Duncan, Greg J. & Katz, Lawrence F. & Kessler, Ronald & Kling, Jeffrey R. & Gennetian, Lisa A. & Sanbonmatsu, Lisa, 2012. "Neighborhood Effects on the Long-Term Well-Being of Low-Income Adults," Scholarly Articles 11870359, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    7. Michael Shields & Stephen Wheatley Price & Mark Wooden, 2009. "Life satisfaction and the economic and social characteristics of neighbourhoods," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 22(2), pages 421-443, April.
    8. Natalia Letki, 2008. "Does Diversity Erode Social Cohesion? Social Capital and Race in British Neighbourhoods," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 56(1), pages 99-126, March.
    9. Sturgis, Patrick & Brunton-Smith, Ian & Read, Sanna & Allum, Nick, 2011. "Does Ethnic Diversity Erode Trust? Putnam’s ‘Hunkering Down’ Thesis Reconsidered," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 57-82, January.
    10. Lynda Cheshire & Robin Fitzgerald, 2015. "From Private Nuisance to Criminal Behaviour: Neighbour Problems and Neighbourhood Context in an Australian City," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 100-122, January.
    11. Carmel Proctor & P. Linley & John Maltby, 2009. "Youth Life Satisfaction: A Review of the Literature," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(5), pages 583-630, 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. Martine Shareck & Eliana Aubé & Stephanie Sersli, 2023. "Neighborhood Physical and Social Environments and Social Inequalities in Health in Older Adolescents and Young Adults: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(8), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Minna Tuominen & Leena Haanpää, 2022. "Young People’s Well-Being and the Association with Social Capital, i.e. Social Networks, Trust and Reciprocity," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 617-645, January.

    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. Monica Langella & Alan Manning, 2019. "Diversity and Neighbourhood Satisfaction," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(624), pages 3219-3255.
    2. Karl McShane, 2017. "Getting Used to Diversity? Immigration and Trust in Sweden," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(3), pages 1895-1910.
    3. Anne Marie Jeannet, 2017. "The Rational Public? Internal Migration and Collective Opinion about the European Union," Working Papers 103, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    4. Nielsen, Line & Koushede, Vibeke & Vinther-Larsen, Mathilde & Bendtsen, Pernille & Ersbøll, Annette Kjær & Due, Pernille & Holstein, Bjørn E., 2015. "Does school social capital modify socioeconomic inequality in mental health? A multi-level analysis in Danish schools," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 35-43.
    5. Morris Levy, 2017. "The Effect of Immigration from Mexico on Social Capital in the United States," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 757-788, September.
    6. Birte Gundelach & Markus Freitag, 2014. "Neighbourhood Diversity and Social Trust: An Empirical Analysis of Interethnic Contact and Group-specific Effects," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(6), pages 1236-1256, May.
    7. Simon Burgess & Lucinda Platt, 2018. "Inter-ethnic Relations of Teenagers in England’s Schools: the Role of School and Neighbourhood Ethnic Composition," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 18/699, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    8. Knies, Gundi, 2017. "Income effects on children’s life satisfaction: longitudinal evidence for England," ISER Working Paper Series 2017-02, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    9. Nissa Finney & Stephen Jivraj, 2013. "Ethnic Group Population Change and Neighbourhood Belonging," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(16), pages 3323-3341, December.
    10. Simon Burgess & Lucinda Platt, 2018. "Inter-ethnic relations of teenagers in England’s schools: the role of school and neighbourhood ethnic composition," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1807, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    11. Fernando Mata & Ravi Pendakur, 2014. "Social Capital, Diversity and Giving or Receiving Help Among Neighbours," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 329-347, August.
    12. Claire Bynner, 2019. "Intergroup relations in a super-diverse neighbourhood: The dynamics of population composition, context and community," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(2), pages 335-351, February.
    13. Lei, Lei, 2017. "The impact of community context on children's health and nutritional status in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 172-181.
    14. van Staveren, I.P. & Pervaiz, Z. & Chaudhary, A.R., 2013. "Diversity, Inclusiveness and Social Cohesion," ISD Working Paper Series 2013-1, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    15. Kenisha Russell Jonsson & Joan Busfield & Marita Södergren & Miia Karen & Nicholas Kofi Adjei, 2020. "Social Capital, Deprivation and Psychological Well-Being among Young Adolescents: A Multilevel Study from England and Wales," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-19, May.
    16. Breda, Thomas & Manning, Alan, 2016. "Diversity and social capital within the workplace:evidence from Britain," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69042, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Anne Marie Jeannet, 2017. "Political Distrust in Europe: the Impact of Immigration and the Global Economic Crisis," Working Papers 102, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    18. Chau-kiu Cheung & Stephen Ma, 2011. "Coupling Social Solidarity and Social Harmony in Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 103(1), pages 145-167, August.
    19. Hayden Armstrong & Jeremy Clark, 2013. "Does higher social diversity affect people's contributions to local schools? Evidence from New Zealand," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 188-223, August.
    20. Gereke, Johanna & Schaub, Max & Baldassarri, Delia, 2018. "Ethnic diversity, poverty and social trust in Germany: Evidence from a behavioral measure of trust," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15.

    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:237:y:2019:i:c:19. 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.