Social disorder, social cohesion, and adolescent health behaviors

Background: Interactions between adolescents and their neighborhoods can promote or worsen health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of neighborhood social disorder and social cohesion on the adolescent health concerns of sexual behavior and delinquency. Methods: Convenience sample of 437 adolescents participating in a federally-funded, 5 year teen pregnancy prevention program, a community-university partnership situated in recreation centers in upstate New York. Data were collected using A-CASI. Model testing of baseline data was conducted. Results: Participants were 56% female, 87% African American, 20% Latino/a with a mean age of 13.5 (SD = 1.9). Males reported higher rates of sexual activity than females in less cohesive neighborhoods; no gender differences were found in more cohesive environments (B = -.37, t (422) = 2.46, p = .01). Sexual activity increased with age, but only for youth living in less cohesive neighborhoods (B = .12, t (422) = 2.14, p = .03). Social disorder predicted higher rates of delinquency in older males living in less cohesive neighborhoods, while no association was found between social disorder and delinquency for older males in highly cohesive neighborhoods (B = .55, t (421) = 2.104, p=.04). For females, less social cohesion was associated with greater delinquency regardless of age and social disorder (B = -1.01, t (421) = 4.02, p < .001). Discussion: Social cohesion can serve as moderator of social disorder and health concerns. Public health nurses have an opportunity to impact the health of adolescents through individual and neighborhood-level interventions.