What is it about?
This study examines how gentrification relates to adolescent mental health, educational aspirations, and academic achievement. Using survey data from 1,045 youth in North Carolina, we find that living in a gentrifying neighborhood was linked to heightened psychological distress among youth with low (but not high) subjective family economic status, which in turn was associated with lower math test scores one year later. The link between gentrification and increased psychological distress was largest among Black youth with low subjective family economic status, who may face both heightened racism and classism-related social stressors in gentrifying neighborhoods.
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Why is it important?
As the pace of gentrification accelerates across the US, this is one of the first papers to empirically examine how living in a gentrifying neighborhood might affect youth mental health and academic outcomes, with careful attention to differences by race and class. Findings suggest that gentrification may be an important social determinant of health and education inequities.
Perspectives
This article demonstrates the challenges of creating inclusive mixed-income/mixed-race neighborhoods. We know that racial and economic segregation is bad, but integration by itself is not enough to ensure equitable outcomes for youth.
Jane Leer
San Diego State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Direct and indirect pathways linking gentrification to adolescent reading and math achievement via educational aspirations and psychological distress., Developmental Psychology, August 2024, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001812.
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