Researchers in Pittsburgh find links between community amenities and better teen mental health
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- What's available in a neighborhood could play a positive role in a teenager's mental health, according to a new study by researchers in Pittsburgh.
According to the JAMA Network Open study, youth living in the city and Allegheny County neighborhoods with more community assets were less likely to report feelings of hopelessness.
"When we look nationally, about 40% of adolescents report feelings of hopelessness, and one in five have contemplated suicide, and almost one out of every 10 young people have attempted suicide," said senior author Dr. Alison Culyba, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh and a UPMC adolescent medicine physician.
Those staggering numbers motivated Pitt researchers to ask the question: "What types of resources and places in neighborhoods contribute to adolescents' mental health?"
Culyba said the study involved researchers using a Western Pennsylvania database to look at community assets in eight categories: transportation, education, parks, faith-based entities, health services, food resources, personal care services like salons and barbershops, and social centers like libraries and community organizations.
Researchers partnered with the Allegheny County Health Department and Pittsburgh Public Schools and received help from students in the area. Students in 13 high schools participated in anonymous surveys about health behaviors.
"We found that there were multiple aspects of community assets — things like parks and libraries, access to health services, and transportation — that we're linked with young people being less likely to feel hopeless, and so overall better mental health related to these assets in their communities," Culyba said.
Instead of looking at the shortfalls, the researchers searched for the strengths. They found bright spots in communities — including places to learn, pray, or even get a haircut — can help teens feel hopeful.
Culyba said community asset density was not shown to be linked with non-suicidal self-injury or suicidal ideation.
She said neighborhoods that tend to have higher investment were shown to have more resources, and communities that have had historically less investment, including some just outside the city, had fewer assets. Despite that, researchers found that many kids in some of those areas were still thriving.
"It's really an opportunity for us to be thinking collectively about how best to support the growth and continuation of multiple different resources, regardless of where young people in our region live," said Culyba.
Their research isn't done. Next, the team will connect with young people and community members to learn what strengths they might be missing and what spaces matter most to them.
"How can we best grow hopefulness and grow the resources that are needed within communities to support that hopefulness in our next generation," Culyba said.
The full study is available on JAMA Network's website.
Lead author Dr. Nicholas Szoko, assistant professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, did this research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Pitt School of Medicine and UPMC Children's Hospital. Other authors of the study were Aniruddh Ajith of Pitt and Kristen Kurland of Carnegie Mellon University.