Search

This study contributes to empirical evidence about how design and maintenance of vacant lot greening in the form of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) may benefit vulnerable populations - specifically people living with depressive symptoms or who experience household flooding. Legacy cities like Detroit, Michigan, have high rates of property vacancy with associated community concerns about personal safety and vacant lot maintenance. Past studies have linked both neighborhood vacant land and flooding experience with negative mental health effects. In contrast, greenspace experiences have been linked with mental health benefits. Greenspaces include microscale landscape elements that can operate as cues to care (CTC) or cues to safety (CTS). We examined whether self-reported experiences of depressive symptoms and household flooding would affect perceptions of vacant lot greening characterized by varied CTC and CTS. Using in-home structured interviews, we surveyed 316 Detroit households to measure residents' perceptions of care and safety of GSI design treatments. Participants viewed 28 × 43 cm colored prints representing 14 alternative treatments on two replicate sites and a control vacant lot. Those reporting depressive symptoms perceived significantly less care and safety across all treatments than others. Those reporting flooding experience did not have significantly different perceptions than others. Further, a model testing a three-way interaction between flooding experience, depressive symptoms, and CTC showed no significant association with perceived care and safety. Most importantly, our findings suggest that people experiencing depressive symptoms do not perceive greenspace experiences in the same way as others. Future research should examine how different microscale landscape elements of greenspace might benefit people with specific mental health conditions differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider linked lives through the Convoy Model of Social Relations to illustrate their complexity, consequences, and development across contexts. To illustrate how the Convoy Model lens provides a unique opportunity to examine the multidimensional and dynamic character of linked lives across time and space, we analyze twenty-three years of longitudinal data from the Social Relations Study (SRS). The SRS is a regionally representative Detroit-area sample (N=1,498) with three waves (1992; 2005; 2015) of data from community dwelling people age 13 to 93. We present three illustrative examples of linked lives: 1) the influence of earlier life social network characteristics (size and closeness) on later life health outcomes; 2) the influence of social position (race and education) on relationship quality with spouse/partner and child over time; and 3) the influence of transitioning from working to retirement on network structure (size and geographic proximity). Findings illustrate linked lives through multiple instances of social relationships and as influenced by various contexts. Further, the consequences of linked lives for mental health are consistent across the life course while influence on physical health is variable. The Convoy Model presents key concepts to situate the ways in which linked lives form and function at various levels and across multiple contexts to have far reaching effects on life outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levels of volunteering may differentially influence multiple dimensions of health among older adults. Further, increasing evidence indicates social networks represent critical bridging and bonding contexts for the volunteering-health link. This study examines two research questions: 1) does volunteering level (low, moderate, high) influence physical and mental health in the same ways? And 2) does social network change moderate this link? Data come from Waves 1 and 2 of the longitudinal Social Relations Study (n = 556) collected in 1992 and 2005 and the sub-sample of adults age 50 and older at Wave 2. Regression analyses predicting self-rated health and depressive symptoms were conducted to examine main effects of volunteering and moderating effects of social network change. Volunteering at a moderate level (101–300 hours per year) was associated with fewer depressive symptoms compared to those not volunteering. Social network change moderated the association between volunteering and self-rated health. Among those reporting a decrease in the proportion of non-family in their network (decrease in bridging), a moderate level of volunteering was associated with better self-rated health. While moderate levels of volunteering are associated with better mental health, the link to physical health is only present in the context of decreasing network bridging. Identifying specific circumstances under which volunteering is beneficial is critical for developing interventions to promote health for all, including those in mid and later life. • Moderate volunteering among older adults is associated with better mental health. • High levels of volunteering are not associated with either physical or mental health. • Volunteering benefits physical health only in the context of social network change. • As networks change, volunteering can help those who lose diversity in their ties. • Increasing presence of family in networks may help maximize volunteering benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: This study investigates the persistent relationships between childhood lead exposure, repeat teen pregnancy, and tobacco use in a sample of teenage females in Syracuse, NY. Methods: We analyzed the association of childhood lead poisoning with repeat pregnancy and tobacco use among 536 teens (aged 15–19 years) in Syracuse, NY, who received services at Syracuse Healthy Start between 1998 and 2002. Results: The mothers’ childhood lead exposure, controlling for race, age, and Medicaid status, was associated with repeat teen pregnancy and tobacco use. Conclusion: Long-term negative health outcomes associated with childhood lead exposure should not be underestimated. This study helps to shore up prior research that found lead poisoning to have a long-lasting impact on children’s functioning and healthy development. Policy efforts focused on neighborhood development and health education continue to be sorely needed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]