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Neighborhood poverty and hopelessness in older adults: The mediating role of perceived neighborhood disorder

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  • Yeon Jin Choi
  • Eun Young Choi
  • Jennifer A Ailshire

Abstract

Hopelessness is one of the strongest predictors of health and mortality, particularly for older populations. Prior research has found associations between individual-level socioeconomic factors and hopelessness, but less is known about the potential importance of neighborhood-level socioeconomic contexts for hopelessness. In particular, the role of neighborhood disorder as a potential explanatory factor for poor psychological well-being remains underexplored. This study investigates whether neighborhood poverty is associated with a sense of hopelessness among older adults and if perceived neighborhood disorder mediates the link between poverty and hopelessness. Individual-level data came from the 2014/2016 Health and Retirement Study and were merged with neighborhood-level poverty data from the 2012–2016 and 2014–2018 American Community Survey. Linear regression models were employed to examine the association between neighborhood poverty, disorder, and hopelessness. Respondents in neighborhoods with higher poverty levels reported a greater sense of hopelessness (b = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.08, 0.15, p

Suggested Citation

  • Yeon Jin Choi & Eun Young Choi & Jennifer A Ailshire, 2024. "Neighborhood poverty and hopelessness in older adults: The mediating role of perceived neighborhood disorder," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(10), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0311894
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311894
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kathleen A. Cagney & Thomas A. Glass & Kimberly A. Skarupski & Lisa L. Barnes & Brian S. Schwartz & Carlos F. Mendes de Leon, 2009. "Neighborhood-Level Cohesion and Disorder: Measurement and Validation in Two Older Adult Urban Populations," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 64(3), pages 415-424.
    2. Sharifian, Neika & Spivey, Briana N. & Zaheed, Afsara B. & Zahodne, Laura B., 2020. "Psychological distress links perceived neighborhood characteristics to longitudinal trajectories of cognitive health in older adulthood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    3. Davide Morselli, 2017. "Contextual Determinants of Hopelessness: Investigating Socioeconomic Factors and Emotional Climates," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 373-393, August.
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