School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
The Braun School of Public Health & Community Medicine, The Hebrew University-Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel.
Health Promot Int. 2023 Jun 1;38(3). doi: 10.1093/heapro/daac028.
Neighborhood violence is associated with poor health, but the mechanisms explaining this association are still unknown. This study seeks to examine the role of loneliness as a mediator of the association between neighborhood violence and health among two ethnic groups (Arabs and Jews) in Israel. A representative survey was conducted among adult residents (1903 Arabs and 2726 Jews) of four Israeli towns: two Arab towns, one Jewish town and one mixed town. A stratified sample of households by residential area, age and sex, was selected in each town. Mediation models were tested using Hayes' PROCESS procedure. Traffic violations, juvenile delinquency and vandalism were reported by more than 50% of Arab residents, relative to about 25-30% of Jewish residents. Loneliness mediated the association between neighborhood violence and health, with a full serial mediation for mental health and a partial serial mediation for physical health. Findings indicate that Arab towns are characterized by severe neighborhood violence. The association between neighborhood violence and physical health was fully dependent on the mediators among both ethnic groups. Future studies should use prospective designs with objective measures of health and violence to validate our cross-sectional findings.
邻里暴力与健康状况不佳有关，但解释这种关联的机制尚不清楚。本研究旨在检验孤独感在以色列两个族群（阿拉伯人和犹太人）中邻里暴力与健康之间的关联中的中介作用。在以色列的四个城镇（两个阿拉伯城镇、一个犹太城镇和一个混合城镇）对成年居民（1903 名阿拉伯人和 2726 名犹太人）进行了一项代表性调查。在每个城镇中，根据居住区域、年龄和性别对家庭进行分层抽样。使用 Hayes 的 PROCESS 程序检验中介模型。交通违章、青少年犯罪和破坏行为的报告率在阿拉伯居民中超过 50%，而在犹太居民中约为 25-30%。孤独感在邻里暴力与健康之间的关联中起中介作用，心理健康呈完全序列中介，身体健康呈部分序列中介。研究结果表明，阿拉伯城镇的邻里暴力现象严重。邻里暴力与身体健康之间的关联在两个族群中都完全依赖于中介因素。未来的研究应使用前瞻性设计和客观的健康和暴力指标来验证我们的横断面研究结果。
