Mean Streets and Mental Health: Depression and Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder at Crime Hot Spots |
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| Authors: | David Weisburd Breanne Cave Matthew Nelson Clair White Amelia Haviland Justin Ready Brian Lawton Kathleen Sikkema |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA;2. Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel;3. The Police Foundation, Washington, DC, USA;4. H. John Heinz III College of Public Policy & Management, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA;5. School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, Australia;6. Department of Criminal Justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City, NY, USA;7. Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA |
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| Abstract: | This study explores the relationship between mental health and place at microgeographic units of analysis. We examine self‐reported symptomology for depression and PTSD for 2,724 survey respondents interviewed in three types of randomly selected street segments: violent crime hot spots, cool spots, and cold spots. We find that the mean symptomology score is 61% higher for depression in violent crime hot spots than cold spots, and 85% higher for PTSD. Overall, we estimate that 14.8% of residents of violent crime hot spots meet thresholds for moderate depression or a diagnosis of PTSD. This can be compared to only 6.5% of residents at the cold spots. Using PSM and weighted negative binomial regression approaches we show that observable selection factors are not responsible for the relationships identified. Examining geographic influences, we find an important area effect of violent crime for both mental health measures, and an additional impact of the specific street of residence for PTSD. |
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| Keywords: | Post‐traumatic stress disorder Depression Violence Mental health Hot spots |
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