Moving to Oppurtunity: An Experimental Study of Neighborhood Effects on Mental Health

T. Leventhal and J. Brooks-Gunn

American Journal of Public Health, 2003, vol. 93, issue 9, 1576-1582

Abstract: Objectives. The health consequences of neighborhood poverty are a public health problem. Data were obtained to examine links between neighborhood residence and mental health outcomes. Methods. Moving to Opportunity was a randomized, controlled trial in which families from public housing in high-poverty neighborhoods were moved into private housing in near-poor or nonpoor neighborhoods, with a subset remaining in public housing. At the 3-year follow-up of the New York site, 550 families were reinterviewed. Results. Parents who moved to low-poverty neighborhoods reported significantly less distress than parents who remained in high-poverty neighborhoods. Boys who moved to less poor neighborhoods reported significantly fewer anxious/ depressive and dependency problems than did boys who stayed in public housing. Conclusions. This study provides experimental evidence of neighborhood income effects on mental health.

Date: 2003
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:2003:93:9:1576-1582_8

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