Associations of neighborhood threat and deprivation with psychopathology: Uncovering neural mechanisms

BackgroundDimensional models of adversity have primarily focused on proximal experiences (e.g., child abuse and neglect). Adopting a more distal lens by assessing dimensions of neighborhood environments could help identify broader contextual features that influence psychopathology across the lifespan and mechanisms underlying these associations. The current study examines associations of dimensions of neighborhood environments with psychopathology symptoms along with potential emotion, cognitive, and neural mechanisms central to dimensional models of adversity.MethodThe ABCD sample included 11,868 participants aged 9-10 across 21 sites in the U.S. Associations were examined for neighborhood indicators of threat and deprivation with emotion processing (adaptation to emotional conflict, task-active ROIs for emotional n-back), cognition (EF and task-active ROIs for the stop-signal task), and neural function (rs-fc of amygdala to resting state network connectivity and within-network rs connectivity). Mixed effect models nesting within family and site assessed indirect effects for neighborhood and symptoms.ResultsIndirect effects of neighborhood deprivation across symptom domains through EF were observed. Neighborhood deprivation, but not threat, had an indirect effect on psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) through within-retrosplenial temporal and within-dorsal attention network connectivity. Indirect effects for only neighborhood threat were observed with attention difficulties/internalizing problems/PLEs, through default mode within-network connectivity, with PLEs through visual network within-network connectivity, and with PLEs/externalizing symptoms through amygdala to sensorimotor network connectivity. ConclusionResults provide insights into neural and cognitive processes underlying observed links between different neighborhood components and psychopathology, with implications for prevention and intervention efforts at the individual and contextual level.