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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Luisa Franzini, PhD, Management, policy and community health, University of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Drive, Houston, TX 77401, 713 500 9487, Luisa.Franzini@uth.tmc.edu, Margaret Caughy, PhD, Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, 6011 Harry Hines Blvd., V8.110, Dallas, TX 75390, and Patricia O'Campo, PhD, Centre for Research on Inner City Health, University of Toronto, 70 Richmond St. E., 4th floor, Toronto, ON ON M5C 1N8, Canada.

The concept of neighborhood disorder has again assumed priority in the social sciences. Disorder has been linked to individual health and crime. Recent research by Sampson and Raudenbush (2004) has investigated the relationship between individual level perceptions of disorder and observable conditions of disorder in Chicago neighborhoods and has shown that neighborhood racial/ethnic and socioeconomic structure shape perceptions of disorder. In particular, reports of disorder by residents of any race were higher in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of blacks indicating racial stigma. In this study, we investigate the relationship of perceived disorder with individual and neighborhood level characteristics in Baltimore, Md. Neighborhoods, defined as block groups, were highly segregated with 50% of neighborhoods having over 70% black residents. Multilevel models using data from interviews with 409 individuals (245 black) residing in 163 block groups indicate that perceived disorder is associated with individual level characteristics (marital status, being black, mobility, and education) and with neighborhood level characteristics obtained by systematic social observation (physical and social disorder) and from the census (poverty rate and percent black) and violence rates. However, unlike in Sampson's research, perceived disorder was lower in neighborhoods with a higher concentration of black residents. These results could imply that residents of neighborhoods with higher percentages of blacks may be more accustomed to exposure to disorder and therefore the level of disorder must be higher before residents perceive it as a problem. We found no interaction effects between being black and neighborhood percent black, implying that the negative effect on perceived disorder of living in a more segregated neighborhood was not affected by the race of the resident reporting the disorder. These results are intriguing and call for more research on neighborhood racial stigma in neighborhoods with high level of racial segregation.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, the participant will be able to

• describe social stigma in neighborhoods
• evaluate multilevel models that explain neighborhood perceived disorder
• discuss the relationship between perceived disorder and racial segregation

Keywords: African American, Community Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation