Self-perceived neighborhood quality and children's depression symptoms in a gentrifying Northern Manhattan

Headnote

Abstract

Poor neighborhood quality (NQ) is associated with social withdrawal and low self-esteem, as well as increased symptoms of anxiety and depression. The majority of reports assessing the association between NQ and child mental health use Census data, which rely on objective components of neighborhood composition and cannot capture a resident's perception of the neighborhood environment. This study used longitudinal measures of maternal self-reported NQ to assess the impact of NQ patterns in middle childhood on children's mental health, in a low-income, minority population that largely resides in gentrifying Northern Manhattan neighborhoods. When children were 5, 7, 9 and 11 years old, self-reported neighborhood information was collected, and neighborhood stress was used as the metric for NQ. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) and the Children's Depression Rating Scale (CDRS) in early adolescence at age 9-12 years. Children of mothers who rated their total NQ as "stressed" in middle childhood had significantly more symptoms of depression than children of mothers who reported their NQ as "non-stressed" (p = 0.046). Additionally, there was an observable difference in the number of individuals who reported clinically significant counts of depressive symptoms between mothers who reported stressed versus non-stressed NQ (10% vs. 6%, p = 0.20). There was, however, no association between NQ and total anxiety. Unlike Census data, self-report NQ assessments can be used as a tool to gauge residents' subjective experience in the neighborhood and to highlight how gentrification may benefit some child residents disproportionately.

Keywords: Perceived neighborhood quality, children's depression and anxiety symptoms, gentrification

Introduction

Over the past 20 years, the relationship between neighborhood composition and children's health has become increasingly well-established. Depending on the quality and frequency of a child's interactions with his or her neighborhood, environmental context can shape youth developmental outcomes. Variations in neighborhood quality (NQ) have been associated with childhood and adolescent cognitive differences in educational achievement, verbal ability, and working memory (1-8). With regard to socio-emotional outcomes, stronger neighborhood economic resources, increased resident involvement, and increased resident employment are associated with better parent report of children's mental health and fewer parent-reported internalizing behaviors, such as social withdrawal and low self-esteem (9-11). Conversely, both living in a low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhood...