Effects of neighborhood violence and perceptions of neighborhood safety on depressive symptoms of older adults |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Social and Behavioral Health, Virginia Commonwealth University-School of Medicine, USA;2. New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ, USA;1. Department of Sociology and Criminology and Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, 603 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802, United States;2. Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue 9-326, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States;3. Drexel University School of Public Health, Nesbitt Hall, 3215 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States;1. Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 180 Grand Ave, Suite 1200, Oakland, CA 94612, USA;2. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;3. Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2024 E. Monument Street, Suite 2–600, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA;4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 791 Jonestown Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27103, USA;5. Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 1095 Le Conte Ave, Suite 2339, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA;6. Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, Columbia University, 630 W. 168th Street PH9E, New York, NY 10032, USA |
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| Abstract: | Violent crime within a neighborhood as well as perceptions of neighborhood safety may impact the depressive symptoms experienced by community-dwelling older people. Most studies examining the influences of neighborhood characteristics on mental health have included either objective indicators or subjective perceptions and most operationalize neighborhood as a function of socioeconomic status. This study examines the effects that objectively assessed neighborhood violent crime and subjective perceptions of neighborhood safety in tandem have on depressive symptoms. The sample identified using random-digit-dialing procedures included 5688 persons aged 50–74 living in New Jersey (USA). Using multilevel structural equation analyses, we tested the hypothesis that higher levels of neighborhood violent crime and poorer perceptions of neighborhood safety are associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, controlling for age, sex, and household income. Results supported the hypotheses. We conclude that interventions at the neighborhood level that reduce violent crime may be needed to compliment efforts at the individual level in order to reduce the depressive symptoms experienced by older people. |
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