Our review published in Social Science and Medicine synthetized available evidence on the relationship between living in neighbourhoods affected by crime and violence, and residents’ mental health problems. The findings clearly showed that people residing in unsafe areas are more likely to report mental health problems, including depression and psychological distress, but we also found some indication for elevated levels of anxiety and psychotic symptoms.
The places where we live, work and age are important in shaping our health and wellbeing. There have been a number of recent studies that have considered whether and how physical and social features of these places may influence mental health. Characteristics of places including economic and social disadvantage, lack of social cohesion between neighbours or restricted access to green space are seem to be important in affecting the mental health of local people. Another aspect of place that might matter is the level of local crime and violence but we don’t have a clear picture of the importance of these processes because the research in this area has not be systematically reviewed and assessed.
Crime events tend not to be random but instead concentrate in certain neighbourhoods. Research in criminology suggests that disadvantaged and low-income areas are particularly affected by crime and violence, especially when there is a lack of social cohesion in the area and it is therefore difficult for people living in this area to collaborate together and make the changes that they want to see in their community (Figure 1). We also know that within most neighbourhoods there are particular places where crime is more frequent (e.g. areas with poor quality street lighting).
Once crime occurred, people directly affected as being victim or witnessing crime, are at risk of developing mental health problems, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, and importantly, residents of higher crime areas, even without direct experiences of crime, may be affected through increased fear and chronic stress, and through other responses such as lower engagement in physical and social activities in their communities. These can all contribute to mental health problems in high crime areas.
In order to get a better understanding of what the international evidence tells us about the connections between local crime and mental health, we screened over 10,000 research articles from 11 major databases and identified 63 relevant studies published in over 30 countries and across a wide range of disciplines (e.g. psychology, public health, economics and criminology). We then used these findings to create a comparable metric across studies which were then quantitatively summarized across the 63 studies – an approach known as ‘meta-analysis’. We found that people living in local areas with higher levels of crime and violence suffered more often from depression and psychological distress. A variety of additional analyses confirmed these results, and findings remained robust when we considered differences across sample and methodological characteristics, such as age of participants, study design or methodological quality. We found comparably fewer studies focussing on anxiety and psychosis, but they also pointed towards increased mental health problems in unsafe neighbourhoods.
This systematic review and meta-analysis is the first in the literature exploring the relationship between local crime and mental health. Although the impact of neighbourhood crime on mental health is comparably smaller than the impact of well-established risk factors, such as being unemployed or experiencing maltreatment, we have to consider that large parts of the population are living in areas seriously affected by crime. Urban centres, especially in low- and middle-income countries, experienced a recent surge in crime and violence, which likely affects residents’ well-being.
Neighbourhood crime and violence is a significant social, economic, legal and global health concern. The results of our review are important because they suggest that reducing crime levels and increasing the feeling of safety among residents can benefit population mental health. Policymakers might consider targeting the physical (e.g. reducing alcohol availability, area rehabilitation) and social (e.g. supporting social cohesion and participation) determinants of crime by complex neighbourhood interventions, as these have the potential to reduce crime levels in a sustainable way. Healthcare planners should be mindful about the increased mental health needs of communities affected by high crime. Scaling up mental health services by providing access to treatment for those in need and considering preventive measures, such as developing skills and coping strategies, may tackle the mental health burden of disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
You can find the paper here:
Baranyi G, Di Marco MH, Russ TC, Dibben C, Pearce J. The impact of neighbourhood crime on mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine 2021; 282: 114106. bong24h.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027795362100438X