Racial Inequalities in Adolescents' Exposure to Racial and Socioeconomic Segregation, Collective Efficacy, and Violence

Abstract

In the United States, Black youth tend to grow up in remarkably less resourced neighborhoods than White youth. This study investigates whether and to what extent Black youth are moreover exposed to less resourced activity spaces beyond the home. We draw on GPS data from a large sample of urban youth in the Columbus, Ohio–based Adolescent Health and Development in Context study (2014–2016) to examine to what extent Black youth experience nontrivial, disproportionate levels of exposure to more disadvantaged and segregated contexts in their daily routines compared with similarly residentially situated White youth. Specifically, we estimate Black–White differences in nonhome exposure to concentrated disadvantage, racial segregation, collective efficacy, and violent crime. We find that Black youths' activity spaces have substantially higher rates of racial segregation and violent crime than those of White youth, and substantially lower levels of collective efficacy—even after accounting for a host of individual- and home neighborhood–level characteristics. We find more modest evidence of differences in exposure to socioeconomic disadvantage. These findings have important implications for neighborhood-centered interventions focused on youth well-being and the contextual effects and segregation literatures more generally.

Pandemic distress associated with segregation and social stressors

“…Each item is measured on a 4-point Likert scale where options range from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 4 (Strongly agree). Social status was measured using the single item MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, which asks participants to evaluate where they stand within society (29). This single item uses a 10-point scale, visualized as a ladder, where 1 represents those who are the worst off in society (i.e., the least education and income) and 10 represents those best off in society (i.e., the most education and income).…”

“…Regarding structural factors, racial segregation is an especially impactful form of structural racism associated with numerous adverse mental and physical health outcomes (29)(30)(31)(32)(33). Minority communities, particularly Black communities, are disproportionately marginalized through both historical and current segregation (29)(30)(31)(32).…”

“…Regarding structural factors, racial segregation is an especially impactful form of structural racism associated with numerous adverse mental and physical health outcomes (29)(30)(31)(32)(33). Minority communities, particularly Black communities, are disproportionately marginalized through both historical and current segregation (29)(30)(31)(32). Segregation is associated with substantially more vulnerability to Covid-19 through several mechanisms, including increased household density, reliance on crowded transportation services, and lower access to healthcare services (34)(35)(36)(37)(38).…”