Advisory Committee Chair
Casey Borch
Advisory Committee Members
Mark E Lagory
Susan Davies
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2011
Degree Name by School
Master of Arts (MA) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
Life within the ecological context of a disadvantaged and disordered neighborhood is characterized by daily exposure to chronic stressors which are often outside the realm of control of the individual and have negative consequences for the mental health of its residents and in particular, adolescents Using data from Healthy Passages, a multilevel, multi-method longitudinal study which examines health trajectories of adolescents over a ten year period, this paper examines whether daily exposure to a threatening environment in disadvantaged and disordered neighborhoods lead to depression in young people who are on the verge of adolescence. The current study tested the relationships between neighborhood disadvantage (measured by percentage of single female-led households) perceived neighborhood disorder (measured by how safe or threatened a child feels in his or her neighborhood), and depressive symptomology Regression analyses indicated that the relationship of neighborhood disadvantage to preadolescent depression is mediated by perceived neighborhood disorder after controlling for maternal depression and individual disadvantage.
Recommended Citation
Winstead, Vicki P., "The Impact of Stressful Neighborhoods on the Mental Health of Emerging Adolescents" (2011). All ETDs from UAB. 3360.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/3360