Higher Levels of Neighborhood Disorder as an Indicator of Walking: A Study on African American Emerging Adults
Presentation Type
Poster
Presentation Type
Submission
Keywords
neighborhood disorder, physical activity, African American, cohesion
Department
Psychology
Major
Psychology
Abstract
Introduction: Ethnic/racial minorities report less physical activity (Wilson-Frederick et al., 2014); thus research is needed to address contextual factors that may contribute to physical activity disparities. Neighborhood factors may play a role, with some research indicating an association between neighborhood perceptions and physical activity (Hannon III, 2012; Loh et al., 2018; Martha et al., 2004; Wallace et al.,2018), while other research shows no significant relations (King et al., 2000; Wilson et al., 2004; Venurs et al., 2019). It is important to investigate simultaneously whether perceptions of neighborhood disorder and neighborhood cohesion are associated with physical activity and to do so earlier in the lifespan in ethnic/racial minorities to aid in the prevention of future health complications. Method: 120 healthy African American emerging adults completed measures of community disorder and cohesion (Cutrona et al., 2000) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ; Booth, 2000). Results: Regressions controlling for age, gender, and household income showed that higher neighborhood disorder was associated with more walking (b = 168.77, p = .012) but not with moderate physical activity (p = .82). No significant relations emerged for cohesion (ps > .17). Discussion: Contrary to our hypothesis but aligning with some previous studies, findings depicted a positive association between neighborhood disorder and self-reported walking but not moderate physical activity. Possible explanations include walking as a form of transportation rather than leisure exercise. Future studies should more comprehensively assess reasons for walking as well as any complex roles that gender may play in this relationship (Gomez, 2004; Loh et al., 2019). The current study contributes to existing literature by exploring a research question with mixed previous literature in an African American emerging adult sample. Only with further exploration of explanations can we better understand the complexity of neighborhood disorder and ways to properly aid populations living in neighborhoods high in disorder.
Faculty Mentor
Nataria Joseph
Funding Source or Research Program
Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative
Location
Waves Cafeteria
Start Date
22-3-2024 1:30 PM
End Date
22-3-2024 2:30 PM
Higher Levels of Neighborhood Disorder as an Indicator of Walking: A Study on African American Emerging Adults
Waves Cafeteria
Introduction: Ethnic/racial minorities report less physical activity (Wilson-Frederick et al., 2014); thus research is needed to address contextual factors that may contribute to physical activity disparities. Neighborhood factors may play a role, with some research indicating an association between neighborhood perceptions and physical activity (Hannon III, 2012; Loh et al., 2018; Martha et al., 2004; Wallace et al.,2018), while other research shows no significant relations (King et al., 2000; Wilson et al., 2004; Venurs et al., 2019). It is important to investigate simultaneously whether perceptions of neighborhood disorder and neighborhood cohesion are associated with physical activity and to do so earlier in the lifespan in ethnic/racial minorities to aid in the prevention of future health complications. Method: 120 healthy African American emerging adults completed measures of community disorder and cohesion (Cutrona et al., 2000) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ; Booth, 2000). Results: Regressions controlling for age, gender, and household income showed that higher neighborhood disorder was associated with more walking (b = 168.77, p = .012) but not with moderate physical activity (p = .82). No significant relations emerged for cohesion (ps > .17). Discussion: Contrary to our hypothesis but aligning with some previous studies, findings depicted a positive association between neighborhood disorder and self-reported walking but not moderate physical activity. Possible explanations include walking as a form of transportation rather than leisure exercise. Future studies should more comprehensively assess reasons for walking as well as any complex roles that gender may play in this relationship (Gomez, 2004; Loh et al., 2019). The current study contributes to existing literature by exploring a research question with mixed previous literature in an African American emerging adult sample. Only with further exploration of explanations can we better understand the complexity of neighborhood disorder and ways to properly aid populations living in neighborhoods high in disorder.