Reactivity and Withdrawal Moderate the Relation Between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence

Anxiety and depressive symptoms develop during childhood and adolescence and are associated with numerous negative outcomes (e.g., Brumariu & Kerns, 2013; Owens et al., 2012). Two temperamental features that predict these symptoms are withdrawal and reactivity. Youth higher in withdrawal may exhibit fear and distress in unfamiliar settings (Schwartz et al., 1999), and reactive youth may have difficulty shifting attention and affective states (Sanson et al., 2004), potentially exacerbating risk for anxiety and depressive problems.

One contextual factor that may attenuate youth’s symptoms is neighborhood social cohesion (NSC). NSC refers to feelings of trust, a sense of belonging, and the presence of role models within a neighborhood (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Among youth higher in reactivity or who withdraw in novel contexts, higher NSC may downregulate physiological stress responses, mitigate feelings of discomfort, and provide coping resources, thereby decreasing risk for internalizing symptoms.

We examined whether reactivity or withdrawal moderated the relation between NSC and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Participants were 631 adolescents (72% male; M=15.50 years; 76% Caucasian, 24% African American). Reactivity was assessed using the Stimulus Screening Measure (Mehrabian, 1977), withdrawal using the Dimensions of Temperament Survey-Revised (Windle & Lerner, 1986), NSC using the Neighborhood Cohesion Instrument (Buckner, 1988), and anxiety/depressive symptoms using the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991).

Regression analyses indicated that the NSC×reactivity interaction predicted anxiety/depressive symptoms (β=-.08, p=.03). Post hoc probing was conducted using regions of significance (Dearing & Hamilton, 2006). Only the lower bound of regions of significance was significant; the two regression lines were significantly different for all possible scores when NSC was below 1.66. In the context of lower NSC, youth higher in reactivity manifested greater symptoms than youth lower in reactivity. There was also a significant NSC×withdrawal interaction in predicting anxiety/depressive problems (β=-.14, p=.00). Only the lower bound of regions of significance was significant at .92. When exposed to lower NSC, adolescents higher in withdrawal exhibited greater symptoms than adolescents lower in withdrawal.

Findings suggest that higher NSC did not buffer youth higher in reactivity or withdrawal from internalizing symptoms. However, lower NSC was associated with increased symptoms among youth higher in reactivity or withdrawal. Future work should explore whether other neighborhood characteristics buffer youth higher in reactivity or withdrawal from internalizing symptoms.