Neighborhood Disorder and Juvenile Drug Arrests: A Preliminary Investigation Using the NIfETy Instrument

Background: Disordered neighborhood environments are associated with crime, drug use, and poor health outcomes. However, research utilizing objective instruments to characterize the neighborhood environment is lacking. Objectives: This investigation examines the relationship between objective measur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse 2012-11, Vol.38 (6), p.598-602
Main Authors: Milam, Adam J., Furr-Holden, C. Debra M., Harrell, Paul T., Whitaker, Damiya E., Leaf, Philip J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
adolescents
African Americans
African Americans - statistics & numerical data
Arrests
Baltimore
Crime
Crime - statistics & numerical data
Crime Prevention
Drug Abuse
drug arrests
Drug use
Environmental aspects
Health Problems
Health status
Humans
neighborhood
Neighborhoods
Neighbourhoods
Regression Analysis
Residence Characteristics
Social Disorganization
Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Typology
Urban Population - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Background: Disordered neighborhood environments are associated with crime, drug use, and poor health outcomes. However, research utilizing objective instruments to characterize the neighborhood environment is lacking. Objectives: This investigation examines the relationship between objective measures of neighborhood disorder and juvenile drug arrests (JDAs) in an urban locale. Methods: The neighborhood disorder scale was developed using indicators from the Neighborhood Inventory for Environmental Typology (NIfETy) instrument; a valid and reliable tool that assesses physical and social disorder. Data on 3146 JDAs from 2006 were obtained from the police department. Results: Negative binomial regression models revealed a significant association between neighborhood disorder and the count of JDAs in the neighborhood (β == .34, p < .001). The relationship between neighborhood disorder and JDAs remained significant after adjusting for percent African-Americans in the neighborhood (β == .24, p < .001). Conclusions: This preliminary investigation identified a positive and statistically significant relationship between an objective measure of neighborhood disorder and JDAs. Future investigations should examine strategies to reduce drug-related crime by addressing the larger neighborhood and social context in which drug involvement and crime occurs.
ISSN:0095-2990
1097-9891
DOI:10.3109/00952990.2012.701357