What Differences Do They See? Using Mixed Methods to Capture Adolescent Perceptions of Neighborhood Contexts.

What Differences Do They See? Using Mixed Methods to Capture Adolescent Perceptions of Neighborhood Contexts.
Am J Community Psychol. 2019 Nov 13;:
Authors: Pratt M, King M, Burash J, Tompsett CJ
Abstract
Recent neighborhood research emphasizes the importance of individuals' perceptions of their neighborhoods, as well as expands the definition of "neighborhood" to include the different contexts encountered during routine daily activities (Coulton et al., 2013; Kwan, 2012). The present study uses qualitative interviews, sketch mapping, and survey data to explore adolescents' experiences of different neighborhoods within their activity space. Participants included 55 racially diverse youth aged 11-19 (M = 14.64, SD = 2.33) who resided in low-income neighborhoods in a small city in the Midwest. The majority reported spending time in multiple self-defined neighborhoods, noting significant differences between neighborhoods on collective efficacy, street code, and on participant-generated dimensions. Self-defined neighborhoods did not correspond to Census tracts, and Census indicators were not associated with youth's perceptions (e.g., collective efficacy, street code). Youth spent time in neighborhoods that differed significantly on multiple Census indicators of structural disadvantage, though within-individual differences tended to be small in magnitude. Type of routine activity was largely not predictive of distance traveled from ho...

Source: American Journal of Community Psychology - November 15, 2019 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Am J Community Psychol Source Type: research