Growing Old in Urban Subsidized Housing: The Relationships Between Perceived Neighborhood Environment and Residents’ Mental Health

Led by Professor Judith Gonyea, along with Ph.D. candidate Yeonjung Lee, this project seeks to investigate the relationship between older low-income community residents’ subjective perceptions of their environmental resources and problems and their emotional health.  This study will also explore racial and ethnic patterns of the prevalence and correlates of depression among low-income residents of subsidized housing.

Using data from in-person interviews with more than 200 adults aged 50 and older residing in subsidized housing in the Dudley Square neighborhood of Roxbury MA, Professor Gonyea and Lee will explore the interrelationship of individuals’ subjective sense of “neighborhood quality” (i.e., safety, social cohesion, satisfaction) and their emotional well-being (i.e., depression,  loneliness).

Gonyea and Lee will use the Spring 2015 Needs and Asset Assessment conducted by The American Cities Coalition (TACC) for the Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC) to conduct two inter-related quantitative studies.

Publications

Gonyea, Judith. (2016). Loneliness and Depression among Older Adults in Urban Subsidized Housing. Jrounal of Aging and Health, 1-17.

Presentations

“Perceived Neighborhood Environment and the Mental Health of Older Adults in Urban Subsidized Housing.” Gerontological Society of America’s 69th Annual Scientific Meeting. November 2016.

View more projects funded through our Early Stage Urban Research Awards