Cycles of Violence: Examining Mental Health Mechanisms in Neighborhood Violence

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Using data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiological Surveys (CPES) this paper presents a conceptualization of neighborhood effects from a stress and coping perspective. Two characteristics of the neighborhood are central to this conceptualization: 1) high levels of neighborhood violence tend to co-occur with low social cohesion and low collective efficacy, and 2) continuous exposure to neighborhood violence acts as a stressor that leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through resource depletion. In this analysis the effects of neighborhood violence on the probability of being violent are conceptualized such that: 1) neighborhood violence has a direct effect on individuals’ violent behavior, 2) neighborhood violence predicts a greater probability of developing PSTD, 3) PTSD reinforces the effect of neighborhood violence on individual violence, and 4) PTSD intensifies the behavioral outcome of living in a violent neighborhood. Consistent with previous research neighborhood violence has a significant effect on individuals’ violent behavior. Further, PSTD has a significant mediating effect such that PTSD reinforces the effect of neighborhood violence on individuals’ violent behavior and significantly conditioned the effect of living in a violent neighborhood. Specifically, individuals who experience PTSD are more likely to engage in violence if they live in a violent neighborhood.

Author

• Rachel L. Wolsey, Bowling Green State University