University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas, TX, USA.
Int J Health Geogr. 2013 May 3;12:24. doi: 10.1186/1476-072X-12-24.
The purpose of this study was to extend the analysis of neighborhood effects on child behavioral outcomes in two ways: (1) by examining the geographic extent of the relationship between child behavior and neighborhood physical conditions independent of standard administrative boundaries such as census tracts or block groups and (2) by examining the relationship and geographic extent of geographic peers' behavior and individual child behavior.
The study neighborhood was a low income, ethnic minority neighborhood of approximately 20,000 residents in a large city in the southwestern United States. Observational data were collected for 11,552 parcels and 1,778 face blocks in the neighborhood over a five week period. Data on child behavior problems were collected from the parents of 261 school-age children (81% African American, 14% Latino) living in the neighborhood. Spatial analysis methods were used to examine the spatial dependence of child behavior problems in relation to physical conditions in the neighborhood for areas surrounding the child's home ranging from a radius of 50 meters to a radius of 1000 meters. Likewise, the spatial dependence of child behavior problems in relation to the behavior problems of neighborhood peers was examined for areas ranging from a radius 255 meters to a radius of 600 meters around the child's home. Finally, we examined the joint influence of neighborhood physical conditions and geographic peers.
Poor conditions of the physical environment of the neighborhood were related to more behavioral problems, and the geographic extent of the physical environment that mattered was an area with a radius between 400 and 800 meters surrounding the child's home. In addition, the average level of behavior problems of neighborhood peers within 255 meters of the child's home was also positively associated with child behavior problems. Furthermore, these effects were independent of one another.
These findings demonstrate that using flexible geographies in the study of neighborhood effects can provide important insights into spatial influences on health outcomes. With regards to child behavioral outcomes, specifically, these findings support the importance of addressing the physical and social environment when planning community-level interventions to reduce child behavior problems.
本研究旨在从两个方面扩展邻里效应对儿童行为结果的分析：（1）通过检查儿童行为与邻里物理条件之间的关系的地理范围，而不考虑标准行政边界（如普查区或街区组）；（2）通过检查地理同伴的行为和个体儿童行为的关系和地理范围。
研究邻里是美国西南部一个低收入、少数民族社区，约有 20000 名居民。在五个星期的时间里，对该社区的 11552 个地块和 1778 个面块进行了观测数据收集。居住在该社区的 261 名学龄儿童（81%为非裔美国人，14%为拉丁裔）的家长收集了儿童行为问题的数据。使用空间分析方法，研究了儿童行为问题与邻里物理条件之间的空间依赖关系，研究范围从儿童家周围 50 米半径到 1000 米半径。同样，研究了儿童家周围 255 米到 600 米半径范围内邻里同伴行为问题与儿童行为问题之间的空间依赖关系。最后，我们研究了邻里物理条件和地理同伴的共同影响。
邻里物理环境条件差与更多的行为问题有关，重要的物理环境地理范围是儿童家周围 400 到 800 米半径的区域。此外，儿童家 255 米范围内邻里同伴的平均行为问题水平也与儿童行为问题呈正相关。此外，这些影响是相互独立的。
这些发现表明，在邻里效应研究中使用灵活的地理范围可以为健康结果的空间影响提供重要的见解。就儿童行为结果而言，这些发现特别支持在规划社区层面干预措施以减少儿童行为问题时，要考虑物理和社会环境。
