Pathways from neighborhood adversity to life satisfaction among older African American adults

Objectives Neighborhood adversity can erode residents’ well-being, including life satisfaction. Higher perceived neighborhood quality may be an avenue through which low neighborhood adversity is associated with elevated life satisfaction. Despite historical and ongoing racial residential segregation, pathways from neighborhood adversity and perceived neighborhood quality to life satisfaction remain underexplored in African American adults. Methods The present cross-sectional study examines the indirect pathway from neighborhood adversity to life satisfaction through five aspects of perceived neighborhood quality (overall quality, sense of community, social embeddedness, perceived crime, and neighborhood satisfaction). Results Neighborhood adversity was indirectly related to life satisfaction via neighborhood satisfaction and perceived crime. In contrast, overall perceived neighborhood quality, sense of community, and social embeddedness were associated with life satisfaction but were unrelated to neighborhood adversity in adjusted analyses. Discussion These findings suggest neighborhood adversity is linked to life satisfaction in part via residents’ appraisals of neighborhood safety, physical environment, and resources.