IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v52y2006i4p376-391.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the Ethnic Density Effect: A Qualitative Study of a London Electoral Ward

Author

Listed:
  • Rob Whitley

    (Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH, USA and Section of Epidemiology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK; rob.whitley@dartmouth.edu)

  • Martin Prince

    (Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK)

  • Kwame McKenzie

    (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Royal Free and University College Medical School, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK)

  • Rob Stewart

    (Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK)

Abstract

Background : The ethnic density effect describes a phenomenon whereby adverse mental health outcomes among individuals from ethnic minorities are greater in neighbourhoods where they comprise a smaller proportion of the population. Most previous studies of the ethnic density effect have been quantitative in design, and thus have only been able to speculate on some of the underlying mechanisms explaining this phenomenon. Aims : This paper attempts to remedy this deficit, using in-depth qualitative methodology to explore mechanisms underlying the ethnic density effect. Methods : We chose an inner-London electoral ward, Gospel Oak, with a relatively low proportion of ethnic minorities, as a case study. Thirty-two residents, eight of whom were from minority ethnic groups, participated in either focus groups or in-depth interviews. We also conducted participant observation and collected relevant quantitative data. Results : We found four principal overlapping mechanisms that may help to explain why minorities living in predominantly white electoral wards may have greater risk of adverse mental health outcomes. These were perceived exclusion from local networks, a need to rely on geographically dispersed culturally specific services and facilities, perceived risk of physical and psychological intimidation and damaging effects of everyday racism. Conclusions : These mechanisms are presented as a framework, grounded in a qualitative case study, which can be applied in future study. They may help to explain the causes behind the ethnic density effect on mental health although further research in other settings is necessary in order to test the framework's external validity.

Suggested Citation

  • Rob Whitley & Martin Prince & Kwame McKenzie & Rob Stewart, 2006. "Exploring the Ethnic Density Effect: A Qualitative Study of a London Electoral Ward," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 52(4), pages 376-391, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:52:y:2006:i:4:p:376-391
    DOI: 10.1177/0020764006067239
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020764006067239
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0020764006067239?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Halpern, David, 1993. "Minorities and mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 597-607, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Denney, Justin T. & Brewer, Mackenzie & Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert, 2020. "Food insecurity in households with young children: A test of contextual congruence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    2. Mehra, Renee & Boyd, Lisa M. & Ickovics, Jeannette R., 2017. "Racial residential segregation and adverse birth outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 237-250.
    3. Phillips, Ghasi S. & Wise, Lauren A. & Rich-Edwards, Janet W. & Stampfer, Meir J. & Rosenberg, Lynn, 2009. "Income incongruity, relative household income, and preterm birth in the Black Women's Health Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2122-2128, June.
    4. Bécares, Laia & Nazroo, James & Albor, Christo & Chandola, Tarani & Stafford, Mai, 2012. "Examining the differential association between self-rated health and area deprivation among white British and ethnic minority people in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(4), pages 616-624.
    5. Mair, Christina & Diez Roux, Ana V. & Osypuk, Theresa L. & Rapp, Stephen R. & Seeman, Teresa & Watson, Karol E., 2010. "Is neighborhood racial/ethnic composition associated with depressive symptoms? The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 541-550, August.
    6. Barry R. Chiswick & Yew Liang Lee & Paul W. Miller, 2008. "Immigrant Selection Systems And Immigrant Health," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 26(4), pages 555-578, October.
    7. Eleonore M. Veldhuizen & Sako Musterd & Henriëtte Dijkshoorn & Anton E. Kunst, 2015. "Association between Self-Rated Health and the Ethnic Composition of the Residential Environment of Six Ethnic Groups in Amsterdam," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, November.
    8. Pickett, Kate E. & Shaw, Richard J. & Atkin, Karl & Kiernan, Kathleen E. & Wilkinson, Richard G., 2009. "Ethnic density effects on maternal and infant health in the Millennium Cohort Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 1476-1483, November.
    9. Whitley, Rob & Denise Campbell, Rosalyn, 2014. "Stigma, agency and recovery amongst people with severe mental illness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-8.
    10. Meyer, Oanh L. & Besser, Lilah & Mitsova, Diana & Booker, Michaela & Luu, Elaine & Tobias, Michele & Farias, Sarah Tomaszewski & Mungas, Dan & DeCarli, Charles & Whitmer, Rachel A., 2021. "Neighborhood racial/ethnic segregation and cognitive decline in older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    11. Seungjong Cho, 2022. "Theories explaining the relationship between neighbourhood stressors and depressive symptoms," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6, December.
    12. Tania Bosqui & Ciaran Shannon & Richard Anderson & Aidan Turkington & Suzanne Barrett & Rosalind McCaul & Stephen Cooper & Donna O’Donnell & Teresa Rushe & Ciaran Mulholland, 2022. "Neighbourhood effects on psychotic and depressive symptoms in the context of religious sectarianism in Northern Ireland: A data linkage study," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(2), pages 264-272, March.
    13. Pickett, Kate E. & Collins, James Jr & Masi, Christopher M. & Wilkinson, Richard G., 2005. "The effects of racial density and income incongruity on pregnancy outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 2229-2238, May.
    14. Hutchinson, Rebbeca N. & Putt, Mary A. & Dean, Lorraine T. & Long, Judith A. & Montagnet, Chantal A. & Armstrong, Katrina, 2009. "Neighborhood racial composition, social capital and black all-cause mortality in Philadelphia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 1859-1865, May.
    15. Peter J. Aspinall, 2002. "Suicide amongst Irish Migrants in Britain: A Review of the Identity and Integration Hypothesis," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 48(4), pages 290-304, December.
    16. David Halpern & James Nazroo, 2000. "The Ethnic Density Effect: Results From a National Community Survey of England and Wales," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 46(1), pages 34-46, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:52:y:2006:i:4:p:376-391. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.