The social process linking neighborhood social fragmentation and individual psychological distress

The current study assessed the social process linking neighborhood social fragmentation with individual psychological distress. Social fragmentation was operationalized as a perception of limited social cohesion within a neighborhood. Data were collected from two waves in the United Kingdom (T1 N = 705; T2 N = 534). Participants completed an online survey with measures of perceived social cohesion, social support, perceived social isolation at Time 1 and completed a follow up survey six months later with measures of psychological distress. Structural equation modeling was used to test a serial mediation model. The results support the hypothesis that social support and isolation mediate the relationship between limited social cohesion (i.e., social fragmentation) and psychological distress. Living in neighborhoods marked by social fragmentation is predictive of decreased social support that in turn predicts greater perceptions of social isolation, and ultimately predicts high psychological distress.