The mental health advantage of Latino neighborhoods: Investigating the role of social resources, stressful exposures, and neighborhood perceptions in the Latino composition-mental health relationship among Mexican-descent residents in high and low Latino composition neighborhoods of Texas City, Texas

This dissertation investigates the relationship between neighborhood Latino composition and mental health. Emerging evidence suggests that high Latino composition may protect Latino residents against a variety of negative physical and mental health outcomes.1–3 This dissertation investigates the relationship between neighborhood Latino composition, social resources, stressful exposures, and mental health in two phases. In the first phase, the relationship between neighborhood Latino composition and depressive symptoms is estimated in a large, representative sample of Mexican-descent residents of Texas City, Texas. The role of foreign-born status, Spanish language, social support, discrimination and stress are investigated as potential mediators and moderators of the association between Latino neighborhood composition and possible depression. In the second phase, a mixed-methods study combining in-depth qualitative interviews and structured, systematic interviews explores neighborhood perceptions of a convenience sample of Texas City Mexican-descent residents stratified by high and low Latino neighborhood composition. Neighborhood perceptions and number of social and family ties are compared between residents of high and low Latino composition neighborhoods. Neighborhood Latino composition is defined using the proportion of Latino residents in the neighborhood based on 2010 U.S. Census data. Results from the first phase suggest that increased Latino composition is associated with fewer depressive symptoms for Latino residents. However, these beneficial effects may only apply to individuals who speak Spanish. Decreased perceived discrimination and stress and increased social support in high Latino composition neighborhoods may explain part of the protective effect associated with increased Latino composition. In addition, discrimination and stress also moderate the Latino composition-depressive symptoms relationship such that only those with high discrimination or high stress exhibit reduced depressive symptoms in neighborhoods of high Latino composition. Results from the second study indicate that residents of high and low Latino composition neighborhoods may perceive neighborhood characteristics similarly, although residents of high Latino composition neighborhoods report more supportive social ties in the neighborhood. These findings suggest that increased neighborhood Latino composition may be associated with more neighborhood-based social support and that increased social support may promote better mental health.

Name thesis:degree_name

Population Health Sciences (Doctoral)

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociomedical sciences

Grantor

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Author dc:creator

• Shell, Alyssa Marie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Weller, Susan

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Peek, M. Kristen
• Eschbach, Karl
• Barral, Jose
• Viruell-Fuentes, Edna

• Hispanic
• Depressive symptoms
• Neighborhood ethnic composition
• Social support
• Discrimination
• Stress
• Spanish language

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/2152.3/721

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utmb-ir.tdl.org:2152.3/721