Mapping Social Context on Mental Health Trajectories Through Adulthood

Current research raises the possibility that adult life course transitions are a function of higher meso-level social structural processes. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the mental health consequences of life course transitions are a function of neighborhood context and how this relationship varies over stages of the life course. Using growth curve models with national data on American adults, we find that a considerable part of the mental health effect of neighborhood operates through life course transitions. Role transitions themselves are also a function of social context, with strongest effects seen during stages of the life course typified by gains and losses of statuses and roles.