Do changes in neighborhood social context mediate the effects of the moving to opportunity experiment on adolescent mental health?

Nicole M. Schmidt; Quynh C. Nguyen; Rebecca Kehm; Theresa L. Osypuk

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102331

Do changes in neighborhood social context mediate the effects of the moving to opportunity experiment on adolescent mental health?

Nicole M. Schmidt, Quynh C. Nguyen, Rebecca Kehm, Theresa L. Osypuk

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigated whether changes in neighborhood context induced by neighborhood relocation mediated the impact of the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) housing voucher experiment on adolescent mental health. Mediators included participant-reported neighborhood safety, social control, disorder, and externally-collected neighborhood collective efficacy. For treatment group members, improvement in neighborhood disorder and drug activity partially explained MTO's beneficial effects on girls' distress. Improvement in neighborhood disorder, violent victimization, and informal social control helped counteract MTO's adverse effects on boys' behavioral problems, but not distress. Housing mobility policy targeting neighborhood improvements may improve mental health for adolescent girls, and mitigate harmful effects for boys.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	102331
Journal	Health and Place
Volume	63
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102331
State	Published - May 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by NIH grants 1R01MD006064-01 and 1R21HD066312-01 (Dr. Osypuk, PI). Funders did not have any role in design or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reviewed the manuscript to ensure respondent confidentiality was maintained in the presentation of results. The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Minnesota Population Center (P2C HD041023) funded through a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Funding Information:
This work was supported by NIH grants 1R01MD006064-01 and 1R21HD066312-01 (Dr. Osypuk, PI). Funders did not have any role in design or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reviewed the manuscript to ensure respondent confidentiality was maintained in the presentation of results. The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Minnesota Population Center ( P2C HD041023 ) funded through a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Adolescents
Housing policy
Mediation
Mental health
Neighborhood effects

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Cite this

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title = "Do changes in neighborhood social context mediate the effects of the moving to opportunity experiment on adolescent mental health?",

abstract = "This study investigated whether changes in neighborhood context induced by neighborhood relocation mediated the impact of the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) housing voucher experiment on adolescent mental health. Mediators included participant-reported neighborhood safety, social control, disorder, and externally-collected neighborhood collective efficacy. For treatment group members, improvement in neighborhood disorder and drug activity partially explained MTO's beneficial effects on girls' distress. Improvement in neighborhood disorder, violent victimization, and informal social control helped counteract MTO's adverse effects on boys' behavioral problems, but not distress. Housing mobility policy targeting neighborhood improvements may improve mental health for adolescent girls, and mitigate harmful effects for boys.",

keywords = "Adolescents, Housing policy, Mediation, Mental health, Neighborhood effects",

author = "Schmidt, {Nicole M.} and Nguyen, {Quynh C.} and Rebecca Kehm and Osypuk, {Theresa L.}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by NIH grants 1R01MD006064-01 and 1R21HD066312-01 (Dr. Osypuk, PI). Funders did not have any role in design or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reviewed the manuscript to ensure respondent confidentiality was maintained in the presentation of results. The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Minnesota Population Center (P2C HD041023) funded through a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Funding Information: This work was supported by NIH grants 1R01MD006064-01 and 1R21HD066312-01 (Dr. Osypuk, PI). Funders did not have any role in design or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reviewed the manuscript to ensure respondent confidentiality was maintained in the presentation of results. The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Minnesota Population Center ( P2C HD041023 ) funded through a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2020",

month = may,

doi = "10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102331",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "63",

journal = "Health and Place",