Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Different aspects of the neighborhood social environment have been linked with mental ill health; however, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain poorly understood because of the number and complexity of the components involved. We used a novel statistical approach, network analysis, to explore the complex associations between neighborhood social cohesion, social disorder, and mental-health symptoms in a sample of 3,670 adults from an economically deprived region of the United Kingdom (mean age = 49.34 years, SD = 18.87; 57% female). Elasso regularized networks were estimated, and network comparisons were conducted by level of deprivation. Mental-health symptoms and neighborhood components formed relatively distinct clusters of items. These domains were linked primarily by paranoia, although only in the most deprived group. Drunken/rowdy behavior was particularly influential within the neighborhood cluster; therefore, policies aimed at reducing such disruptive behavior could have positive knock-on effects for social cohesion and mental health.
Source: Clinical Psychological Science
Institutions: University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, University of Sheffield, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast, National Health Service, Mersey Care NHS Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Lancaster University, University of Lancashire
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: G5584896379
OpenAlex ID: W2917875358