Social stress and trauma: synthesis and spatial analysis

Neighborhood Violent Crime and Perceived Stress in Pregnancy

Stress has been shown to adversely affect pregnancy outcomes. Neighborhood crime rates may serve as one publicly available social determinant of health for pregnancy studies that use registry or electronic health record datasets in which individual-level stress data are not available. We sought to determine whether neighborhood violent crime incidents were associated with measured perceived stress in a largely minority, urban pregnancy cohort. We performed a secondary analysis of the 1309 Philadelphia residents participating in the Motherhood and Microbiome cohort (n = 2000) with both neighborhood violent crime and Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) data. Generalized linear mixed models accounting for confounding variables and geographic clustering demonstrated that, regardless of race, women with the highest quartile of neighborhood violent crime had significantly elevated odds of high stress compared to women with lower crime. We also found that Black women were more likely to have both the highest quartile of neighborhood violent crime and high stress than non-Black women. Overall, this study demonstrates that neighborhood violent crime is associated with perceived stress in pregnancy. Given disparate exposure to crime and prenatal stress by race, future work is warranted to determine whether urban neighborhood violence and/or stress reduction strategies would improve birth outcome racial disparities.

Persistence, Intensity, and Areal Extent of Violence Against Women

The authors focus on the density of assaults against women in Baltimore City, expressed in terms of persistence, intensity, and areal extent. Aggravated assaults and homicides with female victims were abstracted from the data base of all such events in police files for the 4 years 1992 to 1995 (N = 36,286). Women were victims in 209 homicides and 12,553 aggravated assaults. Problem areas were delineated using a threshold incident density of approximately two standard deviations above the mean. Maps expressing this density level were prepared for each year. The intersection of each annual high density pattern with census block group geography was determined, and block groups were divided into two classes: those intersecting high density zones and those not intersecting. The authors report on salient census characteristics of the two sets of block groups and comment on relevant policy implications.

The aftermath of public housing relocations: relationships between changes in local socioeconomic conditions and depressive symptoms in a cohort of adult relocaters

USA is experiencing a paradigm shift in public housing policy: while policies used to place people who qualified for housing assistance into spatially concentrated housing complexes, they now seek to geographically disperse them, often to voucher-subsidized rental units in the private market. Programs that relocate residents from public housing complexes tend to move them to neighborhoods that are less impoverished and less violent. To date, studies have reached conflicting findings about the relationship between public housing relocations and depression among adult relocaters. The present longitudinal multilevel analysis tests the hypothesis that pre-/postrelocation improvements in local economic conditions, social disorder, and perceived community violence are associated with declines in depressive symptoms in a cohort of African-American adults; active substance misusers were oversampled. We tested this hypothesis in a cohort of 172 adults who were living in one of seven public housing complexes scheduled for relocation and demolition in Atlanta, GA; by design, 20% were dependent on substances and 50% misused substances but were not dependent. Baseline data captured prerelocation characteristics of participants; of the seven census tracts where they lived, three waves of postrelocation data were gathered approximately every 9 months thereafter. Surveys were administered at each wave to assess depressive symptoms measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), perceived community violence, and other individual-level covariates. Participants' home addresses were geocoded to census tracts at each wave, and administrative data sources were used to characterize tract-level economic disadvantage and social disorder. Hypotheses were tested using multilevel models. Between waves 1 and 2, participants experienced significant improvements in reported depressive symptoms and perceived community violence and in tract-level economic disadvantage and social disorder; these reductions were sustained across waves 2-4. A 1 standard deviation improvement in economic conditions was associated with a 1-unit reduction in CES-D scores; the magnitude of this relationship did not vary by baseline substance misuse or gender. Reduced perceived community violence also predicted lower CES-D scores. Our objective measure of social disorder was unrelated to depressive symptoms. We found that relocaters who experienced greater pre-/postrelocation improvements in economic conditions or in perceived community violence experienced fewer depressive symptoms. Combined with past research, these findings suggest that relocation initiatives should focus on the quality of the places to which relocaters move; future research should also identify pathways linking pre-/postrelocation changes in place characteristics to changes in mental health.

Use of a 'microecological technique' to study crime incidents around methadone maintenance treatment centers

AIMS

Concern about crime is a significant barrier to the establishment of methadone treatment centers (MTCs). Methadone maintenance reduces crime among those treated, but the relationship between MTCs and neighborhood crime is unknown. We evaluated crime around MTCs.

SETTING

Baltimore City, MD, USA.

PARTICIPANTS

We evaluated crime around 13 MTCs and three types of control locations: 13 convenience stores (stores), 13 residential points and 10 general medical hospitals.

MEASURES

We collected reports of Part 1 crimes from 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2001 from the Baltimore City Police Department.

DESIGN

Crimes and residential point locations were mapped electronically by street address (geocoded), and MTCs, hospitals and stores were mapped by visiting the sites with a global positioning satellite (GPS) locator. Concentric circular 'buffers' were drawn at 25-m intervals up to 300 m around each site. We used Poisson regression to assess the relationship between crime counts (incidents per unit area) and distance from the site.

FINDINGS

There was no significant geographic relationship between crime counts and MTCs or hospitals. A significant negative relationship (parameter estimate -0.3127, P < 0.04) existed around stores in the daytime (7 am-7 pm), indicating higher crime counts closer to the stores. We found a significant positive relationship around residential points during daytime (0.5180, P < 0.0001) and at night (0.3303, P < 0.0001), indicating higher crime counts further away.

CONCLUSIONS

Methadone treatment centers, in contrast to convenience stores, are not associated geographically with crime.

Violent crime in San Antonio, Texas: an application of spatial epidemiological methods

Violent crimes are rarely considered a public health problem or investigated using epidemiological methods. But patterns of violent crime and other health conditions are often affected by similar characteristics of the built environment. In this paper, methods and perspectives from spatial epidemiology are used in an analysis of violent crimes in San Antonio, TX. Bayesian statistical methods are used to examine the contextual influence of several aspects of the built environment. Additionally, spatial regression models using Bayesian model specifications are used to examine spatial patterns of violent crime risk. Results indicate that the determinants of violent crime depend on the model specification, but are primarily related to the built environment and neighborhood socioeconomic conditions. Results are discussed within the context of a rapidly growing urban area with a diverse population.

Pathways to depression: the impact of neighborhood violent crime on inner-city residents in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Crime and neighborhood disorder may negatively impact the health of urban residents. Neighborhoods with high levels of violent crime may also increase residents' risk of experiencing violence. Most studies supporting the assertion that neighborhood disorder impacts mental health have used residents' own ratings of their neighborhoods. The present study examines the relationships among block-group level crime, perceived neighborhood disorder, violence experienced in the neighborhood, and depression. The sample comprising the current and former drug users (n=786) nested in 270 block groups within Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Using path analysis, we tested the hypothesis that neighborhood violent crime has a direct impact on experiences of violence. Also, we hypothesized that neighborhood violence had a direct and indirect impact on depressive symptoms. Results support a model in which violence is associated with psychological distress through perceptions of neighborhood disorder, and through experiences of violence. We conclude that community and structural level interventions are needed to decrease neighborhood crime and improve residents' perception of their neighborhood.

Neighborhood-level factors and youth violence: giving voice to the perceptions of prominent neighborhood individuals

Youth violence is a significant public health problem. Although the relationship between neighborhood-level factors and urban youth violence is recognized, the specific mechanisms of this relationship are often unclear. Prominent neighborhood individuals were identified within four select low-income urban neighborhoods in Baltimore City. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore these individuals' perceptions of the relationship between social and structural neighborhood-level factors and urban youth violence. Employment opportunities, local businesses, trash management, vacant housing, and street lighting were perceived as important neighborhood factors influencing young people's experiences. The relationship between these neighborhood characteristics and the local illicit drug market and youth violence is highlighted. Results provide an enhanced understanding of the importance of using a participatory-based research approach and the mechanisms of the relationship between neighborhood-level factors and youth violence. Both are critical components in designing and implementing multilevel youth violence prevention efforts.

Perceived Social Cohesion and Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

BACKGROUND

Although physical attributes have been shown to be associated with sexually transmitted disease (SD) rates, there is little information about the association between social attributes and STD rates.

GOAL

The objective of this study was to determine the association between gonorrhea prevalence and perceptions of social cohesion in impoverished, urban neighborhoods.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted a street-based survey of 18- to 24-year-olds residing in selected census block groups in Baltimore City, Maryland. Census block groups eligible for selection were defined as impoverished (greater than 20% in poverty) and unstable (lowest 25th percentile for stability). From the eligible census block groups, 5 from high gonorrhea rate (greater than the 75th percentile) census block groups and 5 from the lower gonorrhea rate (lowest 25th percentile to equal or greater than the 75th percentile) census block groups were randomly selected. Participants within the 10 selected census block groups were recruited using a street-intercept method. Participants were asked about perceived social cohesion and control.

RESULTS

Results showed that for young adults 18 to 24 years of age residing in high gonorrhea census block groups, the mean social cohesion index scores were 1.7 points lower than mean social cohesion index scores of the participants residing in the low gonorrhea census block groups (P <0.01).

CONCLUSION

Future research needs to be conducted to determine the temporal association between gonorrhea prevalence and local social cohesion dynamics.

Rates of Unemployment and Penetrating Trauma Are Correlated

BACKGROUND

Trauma surgeons have observed an increased rate of penetrating trauma during periods of increased unemployment.

METHODS

During a 10-year period, the rate of unemployment in a metropolitan area was compared with the rate of intentional penetrating trauma at two Level I trauma centers. The total number of trauma cases was recorded. Assaults, derived from police records, were examined as an additional indicator of violent behavior. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to identify significant correlation between study variables. Stepwise maximum-likelihood estimation was used to derive a model predicting percent penetrating trauma.

RESULTS

The rate of unemployment and percent penetrating trauma of individuals presenting to the emergency department were significantly correlated (P = 0.014). After stepwise estimation, a model was derived (r2 = 0.846, P = 0.014) that estimated percent penetrating trauma on the basis of percent unemployment and total number of trauma admissions.

CONCLUSION

This long-term ecological study confirms that rates of penetrating trauma increase with increasing unemployment rates. This should inspire further research to identify areas of greatest need to improve delivery of resources and current public policy with the ultimate goal of decreasing the incidence of penetrating trauma.

Monitoring socioeconomic inequalities in sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, and violence: geocoding and choice of area-based socioeconomic measures--the public health disparities geocoding project (US)

OBJECTIVES

To determine which area-based socioeconomic measures, at which level of geography, are suitable for monitoring socioeconomic inequalities in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), tuberculosis (TB), and violence in the United States.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis of public health surveillance data, geocoded and linked to area-based socioeconomic measures generated from 1990 census tract, block group, and ZIP Code data. We included all incident cases among residents of either Massachusetts (MA; 1990 population = 6016425) or Rhode Island (RI; 1990 population = 1003464) for: STIs (MA: 1994-1998, n = 26535 chlamydia, 7464 gonorrhea, 2619 syphilis; RI: 1994-1996, n = 4473 chlamydia, 1256 gonorrhea, 305 syphilis); TB (MA: 1993-1998, n = 1793; RI: 1985-1994, n = 576), and non-fatal weapons related injuries (MA: 1995-1997, n = 6628).

RESULTS

Analyses indicated that: (a). block group and tract socioeconomic measures performed similarly within and across both states, with results more variable for the ZIP Code level measures; (b). measures of economic deprivation consistently detected the steepest socioeconomic gradients, considered across all outcomes (incidence rate ratios on the order of 10 or higher for syphilis, gonorrhea, and non-fatal intentional weapons-related injuries, and 7 or higher for chlamydia and TB); and (c). results were similar for categories generated by quintiles and by a priori categorical cut-points.

CONCLUSIONS

Supplementing U.S. public health surveillance systems with census tract or block group area-based socioeconomic measures of economic deprivation could greatly enhance monitoring and analysis of social inequalities in health in the United States.

Gastrointestinal symptoms and subjects cluster into distinct upper and lower groupings in the community: a four nations study

OBJECTIVE

It is unknown whether distinct functional GI (GI) symptom groupings occur in the general population and whether these are similar across different cultures. Although symptom-based diagnostic criteria have been developed for upper and lower GI syndromes (the Rome criteria), the classification is controversial. We aimed to identify whether independent symptom-based subgroups exist in four countries consistent with the Rome criteria.

METHODS

Random samples of the community were mailed a validated questionnaire based on the Bowel Disease Questionnaire in Rochester, MN (n = 2,220), in Sydney, Australia (n = 1,135), and in Essen, Germany (n = 500). A different validated questionnaire was mailed to a random sample in Osthammar, Sweden (n = 1,517). Only the common questions (n = 22) were used in the current analysis, and these were essentially identical in wording. The underlying structure of the item responses was examined using factor analysis. Initial factors were extracted using principal components analysis and then rotated using Varimax. Clustering of symptoms among individuals was examined though cluster analysis, using the factors as the basis for clustering.

RESULTS

Response rates varied from 64% to 80%; responders and nonresponders were similar sociodemographically. All four studies yielded similar factor structures. All countries reported symptom groupings consistent with the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), dyspepsia and/or gastroesophageal reflux, and constipation; all except Sweden also had a diarrhea group. The cluster analysis yielded slightly more disparate results but a healthy group was present in all populations. All four populations had an IBS and/or bowel dysfunction cluster identified; a gastroesophageal reflux cluster was also present in all countries.

CONCLUSIONS

The similarity of factor and cluster structures found in these four nations suggest that patterns of GI symptoms and groupings of individuals are similar across these Western cultures. These results are consistent with the current international Rome classification for separate upper and lower functional GI disorders.

Violence as a public health emergency

Violence threatens or denies not only the health of those who are directly affected but diminishes the whole human process. Neither the violent acts themselves, nor the repercussions of these tragedies, are limited to one geographic or social setting, and it is not just the frequency of violent actions that threatens the health of the nation. It is the ripple effect that occurs from each of these incidents that affects everyone. This article discusses the problem of national violence in the United States and examines preventive programs.