The Moderating Effects of Neighborhood Disadvantage on Social Support and Emotional Reactivity in Their Relationships to Depression

Current research shows that neighborhood disadvantage is linked with adolescent depression risk; however, some questions remain as to which youth are at the greatest risk. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine possible moderators in the existing neighborhood disadvantage – adolescent depression relationship, meant to inform future interventions for mitigating depression risk in these populations. To do this, the study focuses on the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage (i.e., neighborhood crime and resource and opportunity access) and adolescent depression symptoms, and whether individual-level social support and emotional reactivity (measured by the late positive potential [LPP]) moderate it. Data for this study were taken from a larger study in Broome County, New York that examined predictors of stress reactivity in adolescents. Participants for the current analysis included a total of 66 adolescents aged 13 – 17 years old (average age = 15.13, SD = 1.43, 53% female, 81.8% non-Hispanic white) who had usable address data and either LPP data (n = 45) or self-reported social support data (n = 33). Participants’ current address data were used for geocoding (i.e., zip codes defined neighborhoods) to acquire CrimeRisk (neighborhood crime) and Child Opportunity Index (COI) (resource and opportunity access) scores for their neighborhood. Also, participants completed self-rated questionnaires to assess social support levels, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms, and completed an emotional faces task on a computer while LPP was assessed. Significant interactions were found between neighborhood disadvantage and social support, such that both teacher and classmate social support were negatively associated with anxiety symptoms, but only for youth living in low-crime neighborhoods. Additionally, neighborhood disadvantage and early LPP to happy faces interacted to predict depression symptoms, such that early LPP to happy faces was negatively associated with depression symptoms, but also only for adolescents living in low-crime or high-resource neighborhoods. Future work based on these findings should examine what factors do moderate a neighborhood disadvantage – depression relationship, and what factors are most contributing to negative mental health outcomes for those in disadvantaged neighborhoods.