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The mediating role of social support in the community environment—psychological distress link among low‐income African American women
Author(s) -
Lin Jielu,
Thompson Martie P.,
Kaslow Nadine J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.20307
Subject(s) - socioeconomic status , social support , psychological intervention , structural equation modeling , mental health , psychological distress , psychology , low income , metropolitan area , distress , african american , clinical psychology , gerontology , social psychology , medicine , environmental health , sociology , socioeconomics , psychiatry , ethnology , pathology , population , statistics , mathematics
Living in a disordered community is negatively associated with psychological well‐being. We investigated the role of social support in the link between community environment and psychological distress in a sample of 152 African American women from low socioeconomic backgrounds in a large metropolitan southeastern city. Structural equation modeling revealed that the association between low quality of community environment and increased psychological distress was accounted for by the mediating role of social support. Findings suggest the importance of social support in improving the mental health of African American women from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Because social support is affected by the environment in which women live, interventions should be community‐focused. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.