Impact of environment on adolescent mental health and behavior: Structuralequation modeling

This study uses structural equation models to describe how objective neighb orhood, perceived neighborhood and environmental support predict mental hea lth; 792 adolescents responded to highly structured interviews. The effect of objective environment on mental health was mediated through its influenc e on perceived neighborhood. Environmental support mitigated negative perce ptions of environment and the Effect of perceived environment on mental hea lth, while exposure to violence augmented the negative effect of perceived environment.