# What Makes a Neighborhood? Associations Between Behavioral and Psychosocial Factors and Perceptions of Neighborhood Environments Among Community-Dwelling Older Black and Latino Adults

## TL;DR

This study explores how non-Latino Black and Latino older adults perceive their neighborhoods and how factors like income, discrimination, and purpose in life influence these perceptions.

## Contribution

The study identifies ethnoracial differences in how behavioral and psychosocial factors relate to neighborhood perceptions among older adults from minoritized groups.

## Key findings

- Higher purpose in life and physical activity are linked to better neighborhood perceptions in Latino older adults.
- Less discrimination and higher income are associated with better neighborhood perceptions in non-Latino Black older adults.
- Multilevel interventions targeting income, discrimination, and social activity may improve neighborhood perceptions and health outcomes.

## Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
How people perceive their neighborhood environments can impact their aging trajectories, independent of objective measures.Previous studies largely do not emphasize how non-Latino Black and Latino older adults perceive their neighborhood environments and the impact of behavioral and psychosocial factors.

How people perceive their neighborhood environments can impact their aging trajectories, independent of objective measures.

Previous studies largely do not emphasize how non-Latino Black and Latino older adults perceive their neighborhood environments and the impact of behavioral and psychosocial factors.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
Non-Latino Black and Latino older adults reported overall neutral perceptions of their neighborhoods.Better neighborhood perceptions were associated with less discrimination and higher income for non-Latino Black older adults, while more purpose in life was related to better neighborhood perceptions among older Latinos.

Non-Latino Black and Latino older adults reported overall neutral perceptions of their neighborhoods.

Better neighborhood perceptions were associated with less discrimination and higher income for non-Latino Black older adults, while more purpose in life was related to better neighborhood perceptions among older Latinos.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health?
Intervention strategies must exist at the individual, social, and structural levels and focus on income, discrimination, physical activity, late life social activity, and purpose in life among non-Latino Black and Latino older adults.When combined, these multilevel strategic efforts may benefit structural and social characteristics of neighborhood environments as well as neighborhood perceptions which, in turn, can facilitate overall health and quality of life for non-Latino Black and Latino older adults.

Intervention strategies must exist at the individual, social, and structural levels and focus on income, discrimination, physical activity, late life social activity, and purpose in life among non-Latino Black and Latino older adults.

When combined, these multilevel strategic efforts may benefit structural and social characteristics of neighborhood environments as well as neighborhood perceptions which, in turn, can facilitate overall health and quality of life for non-Latino Black and Latino older adults.

How people perceive their neighborhoods can impact their aging trajectories, with less known regarding neighborhood perceptions among older adults from minoritized groups. This study examined the impacts of behavioral and psychosocial factors on neighborhood perceptions among non-Latino (NL) Black and Latino older adults. Participants (N = 506) were NL Black (n = 372) and Latino (n = 134) older adults (x¯ age = 79 years) without dementia. Participants completed a modified Perceptions of Neighborhood Environments Scale (mPNES; higher scores indicate more favorable perceptions) and measures of behavioral and psychosocial factors. We performed fully saturated linear regression analyses to assess how each factor related to the mPNES, followed by stepwise linear regression analyses to determine final predictive models for the full sample and each ethnoracial group. For the full sample, higher purpose in life, more physical activity, less discrimination, and higher income were associated with higher mPNES scores. For NL Black older adults, more physical activity, less discrimination, and higher income were associated with higher mPNES scores. For older Latinos, more purpose in life and a larger social network size were associated with higher mPNES scores. Distinct associations exist by ethnoracial group and suggest unique considerations to facilitate positive neighborhood perceptions among NL Black and Latino older adults.