Mediation of Neighborhood Effects on Adolescent Substance Use by the School and Peer Environments.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Evidence suggests that aspects of the neighborhood environment may influence risk of problematic drug use among adolescents. Our objective was to examine mediating roles of aspects of the school and peer environments on the effect of receiving a Section 8 housing voucher and using it to move out of public housing on adolescent substance use outcomes.

Methods

We used data from the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) experiment that randomized receipt of a Section 8 housing voucher. Hypothesized mediators included school climate, safety, peer drug use, and participation in an after-school sport or club. We applied a doubly robust, semiparametric estimator to longitudinal MTO data to estimate stochastic direct and indirect effects of randomization on cigarette use, marijuana

SUBMITTER: Rudolph KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5987191 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature