Neighborhood stressors, perceived neighborhood quality, and child mental health in New York City

This paper examines the relationship between neighborhood stressors, stressors related to parenting, children's evaluations of neighborhood quality, and child depression. One hundred and twenty-six young adolescents in three disadvantaged New York City neighborhoods completed surveys on neighborhood quality and child depression and the children's parents provided information on their mental health and parenting practices. Neighborhood stressors were measured through observations by outside raters. Children's evaluations of neighborhood quality were positively related to their assessments of depression and there was an unexpected positive association between the neighborhood drug/alcohol stressor and child depression. Moreover, the relationship between the drug/alcohol stressor and child depression was fully mediated by the children's assessments of neighborhood quality. Future directions for neighborhood and health research are discussed.