The Influence of Neighborhood Aesthetics,Safety, and Social Cohesion on Perceived Stress in Disadvantaged Communities

Limited research has explored how specific elements of physical and social environments influence mental health indicators such as perceived stress, or whether such associations are moderated by gender. This study examined the relationship between selected neighborhood characteristics and perceived stress levels within a primarily low‐income, older, African‐American population in a mid‐sized city in the Southeastern U.S. Residents (n = 394; mean age=55.3 years, 70.9% female, 89.3% African American) from eight historically disadvantaged neighborhoods completed surveys measuring perceptions of neighborhood safety, social cohesion, aesthetics, and stress. Multivariate linear regression models examined the association between each of the three neighborhood characteristics and perceived stress. Greater perceived safety, improved neighborhood aesthetics, and social cohesion were significantly associated with lower perceived stress. These associations were not moderated by gender. These findings suggest that improving social attributes of neighborhoods may have positive impacts on stress and related benefits for population health. Future research should examine how neighborhood characteristics influence stress over time.     

Current suicide ideation and prior suicide attempts of bipolar patients as influences on caregiver burden

We examined whether caregivers of bipolar patients reporting current suicidal ideation and/or a history of a suicide attempt reported higher levels of burden and/or poorer health compared to caregivers of patients without these suicidality indices. In a cross-sectional design, caregivers (N = 480) associated with (a) patients with current suicidal ideation or (b) patients with a positive lifetime history of at least one suicide attempt, reported lower general health scores than caregivers associated with patients with neither of these indices. Parents of patients with at least one lifetime attempt reported more burden secondary to role dysfunction than spouses. Levels of depression in caregivers varied with whether the caregiver was a spouse or a parent, and whether patients had a history of suicide attempts, current suicidal ideation, or both.     

Investigating Socioeconomic Disparities in the Potential Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Environments of Churches

Journal of Religion and Health - Faith-based settings have the potential to improve health in underresourced communities, but little research has quantified and compared health-promoting elements...