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Neighborhood Protective Effects on Depression in Latinos
Author(s) -
Vega William A.,
Ang Alfonso,
Rodriguez Michael A.,
Finch Brian K.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/s10464-010-9370-5
Subject(s) - collective efficacy , residence , social capital , socioeconomic status , psychology , social isolation , demography , health psychology , psychological intervention , public health , multilevel model , population , depression (economics) , gerontology , social psychology , sociology , medicine , psychiatry , economics , nursing , machine learning , social science , computer science , macroeconomics
Neighborhood social ecologies may have protective effects on depression in Latinos, after adjusting for demographic risk factors, such as nativity and length of stay in the US. This study examines the effects of neighborhood collective efficacy and linguistic isolation on depression in a heterogeneous urban Latino population from 1,468 adult respondents in Los Angeles County. We used multilevel models to analyze how major depression is associated with socioeconomic background, length of stay in the U.S., neighborhood collective efficacy and linguistic isolation among Latinos. A significant cross‐level interaction effect was found between collective efficacy and foreign‐born Latinos who resided in the US ≥ 15 years. We report cross‐level interaction effects between linguistic isolation and nativity for U.S.‐born and nativity and duration of residence for foreign‐born Latinos who had lived in the U.S. at least 15 years. The moderating effects reported in this study suggest that the benefits of neighborhood collective efficacy and linguistic isolation vary by Latino subgroup and are conceptually discrete forms of social capital and offer insights for community based interventions.