PSC In The News
Bailey and Dynarski cited in piece on why quality education should be a "civil and moral right"
Kalousova and Burgard find credit card debt increases likelihood of foregoing medical care
Highlights
Arline Geronimus wins Excellence in Research Award from School of Public Health
Yu Xie to give DBASSE's David Lecture April 30, 2013 on "Is American Science in Decline?"
U-M grad programs do well in latest USN&WR "Best" rankings
Sheldon Danziger named president of Russell Sage Foundation
Back in September
Follow us Objective and Perceived Neighborhood Environment and Social Engagement
Jennifer Ailshire (Center of Biodemography and Population Health, School of Gerontology, University of Southern California)
02-15-2010, at noon in room 6050 ISR-Thompson.
Neighborhoods play a central role in shaping the social experiences, health and well being of residents, and may factor importantly in forming and sustaining social relationships. However, research on the link between neighborhoods and relationships has been largely absent. This study uses data from the Chicago Community Adult Health Study (2001-2002) to examine the relationship between social engagement and neighborhood social environment. Social engagement includes level of social participation, frequency of social interactions, and feelings of loneliness. Both objective and subjective assessments of neighborhood social cohesion and reciprocal exchange are used to characterize the neighborhood environment. Multilevel analysis is conducted to examine the association between individual social engagement and neighborhood social context. Results show that neighborhood cohesion is associated with more social interaction and less loneliness and reciprocal exchange is associated with more social participation and interaction, even after accounting for individual characteristics. Compared to objectively assessed neighborhood characteristics, subjective perceptions of neighborhood social context appear to be more strongly related to social engagement.