A study of environmental influences on the well-being of individuals with psychiatric disabilities in Philadelphia, PA

The influence of community-level indicators in understanding mental health has been of interest since the seminal work of Faris and Dunham (1939). The emergence of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and concepts such as social capital and recovery add new tools and concepts for further explorations in this area. This correlational study uses an innovative GIS approach to examine the relative contribution of community indicators, such as crime, unemployment, social capital, and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics, such as gender, age, and experience of homelessness, to the well-being and recovery of 378 individuals diagnosed with either major depression or a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder residing in an urban environment in the Northeast United States. Results indicate that community-level indicators are only marginally correlated with well-being, including self-reported symptoms, quality of life, empowerment, and recovery. These associations are further reduced when considering individuals' sociodemographic characteristics, which appear to explain a greater amount of variability in well-being and recovery. Contrary to expectations, these results suggest that community indicators may not have a major impact on individuals who have already developed a significant psychiatric condition, at least in the domains studied, and that personal factors play a more significant role. These findings further advance our knowledge about the relationship between "place" and personal factors on mental health and wellness. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.