The mediating role of neighborhood social cohesion and trust in the relationship between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression and how the relationship is mediated by neighborhood social cohesion and trust. Previous studies on childhood material hardship and adolescent depression have consistently pointed to the importance of social and environmental contexts in explaining health inequalities among children in socially disadvantaged families. However, little is known about the extent to which neighborhood social context contributes to increasing or decreasing the strength of the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression.

Method: Using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) waves 3 and 6, this study conducted Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis to examine whether levels of neighborhood social cohesion and trust mediates the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression. The study sample consisted of 2,096 children at age 3 and 15.

Results: Findings from the SEM analysis suggest that childhood material hardship is linked with higher levels of adolescent depression and this pathway is partially mediated by neighborhood social cohesion and trust.

Discussion: Results suggest that neighborhood conditions played a role in mediating the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to policy and practice.