The role of neighborhood disadvantage, physical disorder, and collective efficacy in adolescent alcohol use: a multilevel path analysis

• The Social Disorganization Theory may explain neighborhood variation in adolescent drinking.
• Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with reduced collective efficacy.
• Neighborhood connections may protect young adolescents or increase risk in older adolescents.
• Collective efficacy may have a tipping point to take effect in adolescent alcohol use.

Research into the salient exposures which explain neighborhood variation in adolescent alcohol use remains inconclusive. The Social Disorganization Theory suggests that neighborhood-level disadvantage may reduce collective efficacy to control adolescent risky behavior. Collective perceptions of physical disorder are also implicated in this neighborhood pathway. Drawing on data from a nationally-representative survey of urban high school students in New Zealand, multilevel path analysis was used to estimate the direct and mediating effects of neighborhood disadvantage, physical disorder, and collective efficacy on current drinking, frequency of binge drinking, and typical quantity of alcohol consumed. The findings supported an indirect pathway from disadvantage to binge drinking and high typical quantities in young adolescents (<16 years), mediated by physical disorder and reduced collective efficacy. Collective efficacy was not associated with current drinking in young adolescents. An opposing indirect effect was evident among older adolescents (≥16 years), whereby collective efficacy was positively associated with drinking outcomes. Implications for future research are discussed.