Behaviors in Context: Exploring the relationship between psychological sense of community and risk behaviors among adolescents living in low-income neighborhoods in Mobile, Alabama

Background: Risk behaviors among adolescents such as substance use and violence are important public health issues. Understanding these risk behaviors requires examination of the contexts in which these behaviors occur. One important context to consider is the neighborhood. More specifically, it is important to understand how neighborhoods characterized by economic disadvantage influence these behaviors and what factors buffer the effects of economic disadvantage and prevent adolescents from engaging in risk behaviors. This present study examines the latter, exploring the relationship between risk behaviors and sense of community among adolescents living in low-income neighborhoods in Mobile, Alabama. Methods: Twenty-six hundred adolescents who completed a 406-item survey as a part of the Mobile Youth Survey Research Study in 2006 were used in this study. Two logistic regression models—model 1 controlling for demographic variables (age, gender, and poverty status) and model 2 controlling for demographic variables and family dynamics (warmth towards mother and family structure)—were used to assess the relationship between sense of community and substance use and violent behavior. Results/Implications: In model 1, as sense of community increased, there was an increased likelihood that adolescents would engage in two of the substance use behaviors assessed—crack/cocaine and meth/amphetamines (OR: 7.02. 7.20, respectively); however there was no significant relationship in model 2. There was no significant relationship between sense of community and any of the violent behaviors assessed in either of the two models. These exploratory results suggest that sense of community may not be a salient buffer within this context.