Neighborhood disadvantage, network social capital, and depressive symptoms.

Research on why neighborhood disadvantage matters for health focuses on the capacity of neighborhoods to regulate residents' behavior through informal social control. The authors extend this research by conducting a multilevel analysis of data from a 1995 telephone survey of 497 residents of 32 neighborhoods in a U.S. city. The authors find that network social capital mediates the contextual effect of neighborhood disadvantage on depressive symptoms and that health effects of network social capital persist when perceived neighborhood disorder, a standard indicator of low informal social control, is controlled for. The findings demonstrate the value of a conceptualization and measurement of network social capital that (1) considers ties that transcend neighborhood boundaries, (2) investigates health benefits of network social capital in the forms of closure and embedded support resources and range and embedded instrumental resources, and (3) uses network data on specific network members with strong and weak ties to respondents.

The disaster framing of the stress process : A test of an expanded model

This document develops and expanded model of the disaster framing of the disaster framing of the stress process and test its main effects and buffer specifications whit data on the preparation on short-term recovery pahses of Hurricane Andrew. Instrumental forms of social support ameliorated psychological distress, but there was only weak support for the buffer model. The results suggest that expanding the range of environmental changes that is included in conceptualizations of stress and exploring contextual effects at the personal network and local community levels would improve the understanding of the stress inside and outside the disaster context. Also the importance of paying close attention to the types and timing of support transactions following life-threatening events is highlighted (AU)