Perceived neighborhood disorder and psychological distress among Latino adults in the United States: Considering spousal/partner relationship

J Community Psychol. 2020 Apr;48(3):726-743. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22288. Epub 2019 Dec 3.

Abstract

It has been well-established that neighborhood disorder and disadvantage are detrimental to mental health and psychological well-being. There has been growing research interest in minority stress issues, however, less is known about how perceived neighborhood disorder matters for psychological well-being among Latino adults in the United States. Analyzing data from National Latino Asian American Study, 2002-2003, the present study investigates the relationships among perceived neighborhood disorder, spousal/partner relationships (i.e., spousal/partner strain and support), and psychological distress. The findings indicated that perceived neighborhood disorder and spousal/partner strain were positively associated with increased psychological distress, whereas spousal/partner support had no protective effect against psychological distress. Moreover, mediation analysis showed that the association between perceived neighborhood disorder and psychological distress was partially mediated by spousal/partner strain (i.e., 15.13%), not spousal support. Finally, moderation analysis revealed that the presence of spousal/partner strain exacerbated the relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and psychological distress. Conversely, the absence of spousal/partner strain appeared to buffer the adverse impact of neighborhood disorder on psychological distress. These findings highlighted the ill effect of problematic neighborhood environments on the quality of the spousal/partner relationship and subsequently Latino's psychological well-being.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Family Relations / psychology
  • Female
  • Hispanic or Latino / psychology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Psychological Distress*
  • Residence Characteristics*
  • Sexual Partners / psychology*
  • Social Environment*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • United States