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Previous finding suggested that individuals who report that they live in neighborhoods characterized by social and physical disorder -by crime, vandalism, graffiti, danger, noise, dirt, and drugs- have high levels of adult depression (Ross and Mirowsky 2001). We suggest that social relationships, which are measured by social support and neighborhood social ties, can mediate the association or buffer the negative effects of living in a neighborhood with social and physical disorder on adult depression. Data are from the 1995 Community, Crime, and Health survey, a probability sample of 2,482 adults in Illinois. We find that social relationships are negatively associated with adult depression, but mediate only small part of the association between neighborhood disorder and adult depression. Perceived neighborhood disorder and social relationships interact: social relationships reduce the harmful effects of neighborhood disorder on adult depression. The daily stress related to living in a neighborhood with social and physical disorder is offset for residents who receive social support and maintain neighborhood social ties. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does perceived neighborhood disorder affect adult depression over and above individual disadvantage? If neighborhood disorder exerts an influence on adult depression, what mediates the association? To date, few studies pay attention to intervening mechanism of neighborhood disorder on mental health. In this paper, I propose that residents who report neighborhood disorder show high levels of depression because of mediating effects of low level of social support and neighborhood social ties using structural equation models. Data are from the 1995 Community, Crime, and Health survey, a probability sample of 2,482 adults in Illinois. I replicate previous finding that the harmful effect of neighborhood disadvantage on adult depression is entirely mediated by neighborhood disorder. Neighborhood social ties and social support are associated with decreased adult depression; in addition they entirely mediate the association between neighborhood disorder and adult depression. Social relationships also mediate the association between neighborhood disadvantage and adult depression, but it is not in the expected way. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood life event and condition have an influence on adult health outcomes according to life course paradigm. Parental divorce is increasingly one of the events that children undergo these days. I examine the association between parental divorce and adult health, and, consider whether social support moderates the association, using a representative national sample of 2,592 adults interviewed by telephone in 1995. Social relationship, social involvement (voluntary behavior and community service), and Intimate ties (marital status and marital quality) are measured as explanatory variables. Self-assessed health and depression are used as response variables. Parental divorce exerts a negative effect on adult health when I adjust for gender, minority, age, age-square, parental education, family income, and education variables. Social relationship and social involvement are positively associated with adult health, but they do not offset the effect of parental divorce on adult health. With the adjustment to marital status and marital quality, the effect of parental divorce on adult health vanishes to insignificance, indicating that adult who are married and show higher marital quality appear not to be influenced by parental divorce. Few social support buffers the relationship between parental divorce and adult health. Considering noticeably growing numbers of parental divorce, this study emphasizes social support as a resource to cope with stress from parental divorce. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]