Traveling Alone or Together? Neighborhood Context on Individual and Group Juvenile and Adult Burglary Decisions

Neighborhood characteristics are important considerations when offenders make targeting decisions. Movement patterns among adults and juveniles vary widely, which impacts both the number of crime opportunities and the range of neighborhoods to which an offender is exposed. We test whether offending patterns among adult and juvenile burglars vary based on distances traveled, the types of neighborhoods targeted, and whether suspects acted alone or in a group. Using discrete choice modeling, we draw upon a unique sample of cleared burglaries in a representative city in the south over a 13-year period. Results show that adult burglars consistently travel further and are more sensitive to neighborhood conditions than their juvenile counterparts, but that group participation makes little difference in target decisions.

How Does Crime-Specific Victimization Impact Fear of Crime in Urban China? The Role of Neighborhood Characteristics

Past research has failed to find consistent relationships between criminal victimization and fear of crime. Except for neighborhood disorder and crime rate, few studies have examined whether other neighborhood conditions matter the victimization—fear relationship. Using survey data in Guangzhou neighborhoods, the present analysis employs multinomial logistic regression models to examine whether neighborhood characteristics moderate the relationship between violent victimization and fear of violence, and between burglary victimization and fear of burglary, separately. Some aspects of the neighborhood environment do differentially influence victims’ and non-victims’ fear levels. Besides verifying the interaction effect of neighborhood disorder and victimization, the present study finds that neighborhood policing alleviates the harmful effect of violent victimization on fear, while collective efficacy fosters the harmful effect of burglary victimization on fear. This paper underscores the significance of the social context of urban China in explaining the interplay of neighborhood characteristics and victimization on fear of crime.

Historical redlining and cardiovascular health: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

We investigated historical redlining, a government-sanctioned discriminatory policy, in relation to cardiovascular health (CVH) and whether associations were modified by present-day neighborhood physical and social environments. Data included 4,779 participants (mean age 62 y; SD = 10) from the baseline sample of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA; 2000 to 2002). Ideal CVH was a summary measure of ideal levels of seven CVH risk factors based on established criteria (blood pressure, fasting glucose, cholesterol, body mass index, diet, physical activity, and smoking). We assigned MESA participants’ neighborhoods to one of four grades (A: best, B: still desirable, C: declining, and D: hazardous) using the 1930s federal Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps, which guided decisions regarding mortgage financing. Two-level hierarchical linear and logistic models, with a random intercept to account for participants nested within neighborhoods (i.e., census tracts) were used to assess associations within racial/ethnic subgroups (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Chinese). We found that Black adults who lived in historically redlined areas had a 0.82 (95% CI −1.54, −0.10) lower CVH score compared to those residing in grade A (best) neighborhoods, in a given neighborhood and adjusting for confounders. We also found that as the current neighborhood social environment improved the association between HOLC score and ideal CVH weakened (P < 0.10). There were no associations between HOLC grade and CVH measures or effect modification by current neighborhood conditions for any other racial/ethnic group. Results suggest that historical redlining has an enduring impact on cardiovascular risk among Black adults in the United States.

The Effect of Early Neighborhood Contexts on Cognitive Function in Midlife

We evaluated associations between objective and subjective early-life neighborhood contexts and cognitive function at midlife. Study participants grew up in different addresses but resided in the same urban zip code at the time of data collection thus controlling for concurrent neighborhood contexts. Participants provided their home address when they were five-years-old and recalled their age-five neighborhood conditions (Mage= 40.59 (7.91); n = 130). Age-five addresses were geocoded and linked with harmonized longitudinal Census tract boundaries and variables. Predictive models with a self-reported neighborhood conditions score, an objective neighborhood deprivation indicator, and other sociodemographic covariates indicated that poorer age-five self-reported neighborhood conditions were significantly associated with lower baseline (Cohen’s d = -.24) and average daily (d = -.21) working memory performance. There were no associations with objective age-five neighborhoods. Results contribute to a growing literature on the role of psychosocial neighborhood contexts on cognition that may extend back to childhood neighborhoods.

Impact of Housing and Neighborhood on Depression Among Older Adults in the Health and Retirement Study

Prior research has suggested that poor neighborhood and housing conditions can lead to worse psychological wellbeing. Most studies examine either neighborhood or housing conditions, but not both. Since neighborhood and housing conditions may be correlated it raises the question of whether one is a proxy for the other. We use data from the 2006 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to examine associations between perceived neighborhood and housing conditions in 2006 and depressive symptoms (CES-D 8) score in 2008. We find that worse housing conditions and neighborhood safety are associated with more depressive symptoms two years later, even when controlling for prior depressive symptoms. Furthermore, housing and neighborhood conditions are independently related to increased depression symptoms over time. Our research contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between home and neighborhood environments and psychological wellbeing in older adults.

Current and Future Directions in Minority Aging: Embracing Interdisciplinary Models

Racial/ethnic disparities in health among older adults are well-documented. More research is needed to clarify the complex and multifactorial mechanisms underlying these associations. This symposium will feature research that employs innovative theoretical and methodological approaches to understand the biopsychosocial mechanisms that underlie racial/ethnic disparities in older adults’ health and determine sources of within-group heterogeneity in minority aging. Dr. Forrester will integrate stress biology and intersectionality to demonstrate the importance of stress and resilience (e.g., John Henryism) with biological aging within Black adults participating in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Dr. Brown Hughes will present innovative research using data from the African American United Memory and Aging Project (AA-UMAP) on the importance of Alzheimer’s disease-specific knowledge and perceptions among Black older adults. Dr. Gamaldo will employ a within-race approach to understand how knowledge and perceptions of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) shape cognitive performance among Black older adults in the AA-UMAP study. Dr. Mitchell will use Health and Retirement Study data to explore the role of midlife stress exposure in accounting for racial disparities in trajectories of cognitive functioning. Drs. Thierry and Farmer will use HRS data to examine how psychosocial resilience (e.g., mastery) affects the relationship between perceived neighborhood conditions (e.g., disorder) and cognition among Black older adults. This work highlights the importance of applying an interdisciplinary lens to move the study of minority aging forward and ultimately, to reduce the unnecessary burden of morbidity and mortality among minoritized groups.

Exploring How Neighborhood Characteristics and Psychosocial Resilience Affect Cognition Among Older Black Adults

Black older adults are at greater risk for poor cognitive health than Whites, and adverse neighborhood conditions may contribute to this disparity. Moreover, limited research examines how resilience is implicated in the relationship between neighborhoods and cognition among Blacks. Using 2006-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, we examine how perceived neighborhood characteristics (physical disorder and social cohesion) and psychosocial resilience (social support, mastery, and sense of purpose) contribute to cognitive functioning among 1,655 Black adults ages 65+. Results from multilevel linear regression models show that greater physical disorder was associated with worse cognitive functioning, and this was attenuated after adjustment for socioeconomic status. We found a positive association between purpose and mastery with cognitive functioning, even after accounting for socioeconomic, psychosocial, and health-related characteristics. Thus, high levels of purpose and mastery may be protective for cognitive functioning among Black older adults in spite of experiencing negative neighborhood contexts.

Racism and the Life Course: Social and Health Equity for Older Black Americans

Racism and the Life Course: Social and Health Equity for Older Black Americans examines the impacts of systemic racism on adult development and the aging trajectories of Black Americans. Using the life course perspective (e.g., socio-historical events, linked lives), we discuss systemic racism as a structural driver of practices and policies (e.g., racial residential segregation) that have shaped the social and health circumstances of older Black Americans. These life circumstances include high rates of poverty, poor housing and neighborhood conditions, worse health profiles, and relationship loss and social isolation—conditions that, for too many older Black adults, represent the ‘normal’ state of affairs. Creating a ‘new normal’ of social and health equity for older Black Americans requires recognizing and disrupting the operation of systemic racism in our policies and practices. Selected recommendations and actions for achieving health and social equity for older Black Americans are discussed.

Neighborhood Conditions, Self-Management Abilities, and Psychological Well-Being Among Chinese Older Adults

Abstract Few studies have examined the associations between neighborhood conditions and psychological well-being for Chinese older adults in the U.S. This study examined how neighborhood conditions were associated with psychological well-being through self-management abilities as a pathway among Chinese older adults in Hawaiʻi. Survey data were collected in 2018 and ordinary Least Square regressions and mediation analysis were conducted. For the whole sample, both neighborhood physical conditions and social cohesion were significantly associated with psychological well-being, and the associations were significantly mediated by self-management abilities. The foreign-born subsample shared similar results with the whole sample. For the U.S.-born subsample, psychological well-being was only significantly associated with neighborhood physical conditions, and the association was mediated by self-management abilities. Our findings suggest that both physical and social neighborhood conditions are associated with psychological well-being, particularly for foreign-born older adults, and psychological resources such as self-management abilities could mediate the associations.

Presidential Symposium: From Disruption to Transformation: Challenging and Changing the New Normal

While the refrain “We’re all in this together” is meant to describe a sense of universality of our exposure and adaption to the Covid-19 pandemic life, the deeply rooted racial and economic injustices and ongoing health crises continue to expose the inequities experienced by many older adults. In this symposium, we focus on existing disparities and possibilities for transformation. The first paper discusses systemic racism as a structural driver of practices and policies that influence poverty, poor housing and neighborhood conditions, worse health profiles, relationship loss and social isolation among older Black adults. The second paper illuminates the importance of health equity and collaboration between aging and healthcare systems to improve the well-being outcomes and address disparities of older adults from racial-ly/ethnically diverse backgrounds. The third paper illustrates how the privatization of Medicare has created bureaucratic complexities that increase cost and burdens for beneficiaries. The fourth paper presents the ways that the pandemic has exposed the challenges of a nonexistent Long Term Services and Support system; specifically, in refocusing our attention on the working conditions of in-home and residential workers, such as poor compensation, and high turnover and mounting demands on families. The fifth paper addresses the importance of collaboration between nursing homes and assisted living communities with governmental emergency operations in times of disasters and public health crises. Each paper addresses pressing issues that have created the “new normal” for older adults; together the presenters explore the disruptions and offer solutions for renewed transformation.