Neighborhoods, psychological distress, and the quest for causality

Neighborhood characteristics have been associated with psychological distress, but it is uncertain whether these associations are causal. The current article reviews data from interventions and quasi-experimental studies that have addressed the question of causality of neighborhood associations. Overall, data from neighborhood interventions, longitudinal studies, and twin studies have provided only limited and inconsistent evidence to support causal interpretation of neighborhood associations with psychological distress: very few findings have been replicated across different samples, and many associations have been observed only with some of the multiple measures included the studies. Studies that examine the effects of neighborhood change on people's wellbeing are needed to improve causal inference and policy relevance of neighborhood studies.