Inequitable Housing Practices and Youth Internalizing Symptoms: Mediation Via Perceptions of Neighborhood Cohesion

Disordered urban environments negatively impact mental health symptoms and disorders. While many aspects of the built environment have been studied, one influence may come from inequitable, discriminatory housing practices such as redlining, blockbusting, and gentrification. The patterns of disinvestment and reinvestment that follow may be an underlying mechanism predicting poor mental health. In this study, we examine pathways between such practices and internalizing symptoms (i.e., anxiety and depression) among a sample of African American youth in Baltimore, Maryland, considering moderation and mediation pathways including neighborhood social cohesion and sex. In our direct models, the inequitable housing practices were not significant predictors of social cohesion. In our sex moderation model, however, we find negative influences on social cohesion: for girls from gentrification, and for boys from blockbusting. Our moderated mediation model shows that girls in gentrifying neighborhoods who experience lower social cohesion have higher levels of internalizing symptoms. Likewise for boys, living in a formerly blockbusted neighborhood generates poorer social cohesion, which in turn drives higher rates of internalizing symptoms. A key implication of this work is that, in addition to standard measures of the contemporary built environment, considering other invisible patterns related to discriminatory and inequitable housing practices is important in understanding the types of neighborhoods where anxiety and depression are more prevalent. And while some recent work has discussed the importance of considering phenomena like redlining in considering long‐term trajectories of neighborhoods, other patterns such as blockbusting and gentrification may be equally important

Inequitable Housing Practices and Youth Internalizing Symptoms: Mediation Via Perceptions of Neighborhood Cohesion

Disordered urban environments negatively impact mental health symptoms and disorders. While many aspects of the built environment have been studied, one influence may come from inequitable, discriminatory housing practices such as redlining, blockbusting, and gentrification. The patterns of disinvestment and reinvestment that follow may be an underlying mechanism predicting poor mental health. In this study, we examine pathways between such practices and internalizing symptoms (i.e., anxiety and depression) among a sample of African American youth in Baltimore, Maryland, considering moderation and mediation pathways including neighborhood social cohesion and sex. In our direct models, the inequitable housing practices were not significant predictors of social cohesion. In our sex moderation model, however, we find negative influences on social cohesion: for girls from gentrification, and for boys from blockbusting. Our moderated mediation model shows that girls in gentrifying neighborhoods who experience lower social cohesion have higher levels of internalizing symptoms. Likewise for boys, living in a formerly blockbusted neighborhood generates poorer social cohesion, which in turn drives higher rates of internalizing symptoms. A key implication of this work is that, in addition to standard measures of the contemporary built environment, considering other invisible patterns related to discriminatory and inequitable housing practices is important in understanding the types of neighborhoods where anxiety and depression are more prevalent. And while some recent work has discussed the importance of considering phenomena like redlining in considering long-term trajectories of neighborhoods, other patterns such as blockbusting and gentrification may be equally important

Restoration of an Indiana, USA, stream: bridging the gap between basic and applied lotic ecology

BRIDGES BRIDGES is a recurring feature of J-NABS intended to provide a forum for the interchange of ideas and information between basic and applied researchers in benthic science. Articles in this series Abstract. Stream restoration attempts to reverse the global degradation of rivers and streams, but rigorous evaluations are needed to advance the science. We evaluated a 3 rd -order channelized Indiana (USA) stream that was restored in 1997 by constructing two meanders, each ϳ400 m long. Pool and riffle sequences were constructed, coarse substrate and wood were added to the channel, banks were stabilized and revegetated, and sedimentation was reduced by creating a sediment retention basin upstream. Habitat, periphyton, macroinvertebrates, and fishes were measured before restoration and for 5 y after restoration in the restored reaches and in an upstream, unrestored reach. Restoration improved habitat conditions (e.g., more pools, fewer fine sediments) in both restored reaches compared to the unrestored reach. Within 1 y after restoration, major trophic groups (i.e., periphyton, macroinvertebrates, and fishes) recovered to or exceeded levels in the degraded, unrestored reach. However, biotic responses varied with time, trophic level, and community parameter measured. Five years after the restoration, habitat quality, algal abundance, and macroinvertebrate density remained higher in the restored reaches, whereas macroinvertebrate diversity and fish abundance in the restored reaches were similar to or below levels in the unrestored, channelized reach. Although biotic recovery was relatively rapid, long-term persistence is uncertain because of continued sedimentation at a watershed scale. In many instances, reach-scale restorations may be ineffective in the face of basin-wide degradation. This study illustrates the importance of conducting long-term assessments of stream restorations, which can improve both knowledge and management of stream ecosystems

A comparison of boat cleaning systems: invasive species removal, boater outreach and engagement, and cost

Bleitz M, Walters K, Latimore JA. 2024. A comparison of boat cleaning systems: invasive species removal, boater outreach and engagement, and cost. Lake Reserv Manage. 40:43–56. The movement of recreational boats is an overland transport pathway that places lakes at risk of invasion by aquatic invasive species. Lake organizations, governments, and conservation organizations may choose to install boat cleaning systems that use heated water, pressurized water, hand tools, vacuums, or a combination, to kill or remove attached organisms. Here we present a comparison of these various cleaning systems in terms of decontamination effectiveness, outreach effectiveness, and cost. We reviewed published literature and interviewed 12 invasive species experts representing 7 boat cleaning programs located in Michigan (each program owns 1 to 5 boat cleaning systems, for a total of 15). Our analysis indicates that there is no single best boat cleaning system. Selection of the most effective system for a particular situation should be guided by local invasion risk, management goals, and location and budget constraints of that situation.</p

List of LAMP primers used in this study.

<p>List of LAMP primers used in this study.</p

Direct amplification results for sample collection strategies including 1000X concentration (20 L hand-filtered to 20 mL) and un-concentrated water, at high initial population abundances (circles; open for concentrated and closed for un-concentrated) and low initial population abundances (triangles; open for concentrated and closed for un-concentrated).

<p>At high abundance, no change in TTP was observed between 1000X concentration and water-only. At low abundance, positive results were observed only after 1000X concentration.</p