Residents of poorer Chicago neighborhoods are more likely to suffer terrible life events—and their health suffers as a result, according to a new Duke University study.
The misfortunes they face can come in many forms—from mugging to job loss to the death of a loved one—and the stress involved often leads to anxiety, depression and other illnesses, according to the study, released April 8 in PLoS ONE, an open access, peer-reviewed journal.
"If you live in a poor Chicago neighborhood, bad things are more likely to happen to you," said sociologist Katherine King, a visiting assistant professor of community and family medicine at Duke. "Small, everyday stresses have long been linked to poverty. But our findings suggest that huge, life-altering traumas, while infrequent, affect the poor to an inordinate degree and lead to a lot of health problems."
...The study, based on the surveys of 3,105 Chicagoans in 343 city neighborhoods, examined data on 15 life-changing events like being assaulted or robbed, getting divorced, getting into legal trouble and having a child die.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-04-poor-neighborhoods-misfortune-ill-health.html
Full article in PLoS ONE: Negative Life Events Vary by Neighborhood and Mediate the Relation between Neighborhood Context and Psychological Well-Being
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