Abstract
BACKGROUND: Research primarily conducted in Europe find high neighborhood ethnic density (i.e., proportion of own ethnic group) lessens risk of psychotic symptoms among racial and ethnic minorities; however, most studies measure ethnic density through crude demarcations in geographic data only at illness onset which may miss meaningful variation from the perspective of residents. The present study is the first in the U.S. to examine whether changes in perceived ethnic density from childhood are associated with psychotic-like experiences (PLE). METHODS: A Northeastern U.S. urban undergraduate sample of 1330 racial and ethnic minorities completed a self-report inventory of PLE, the Prodromal Questionnaire, and indicated their racial and ethnic neighborhood composition before and after age 12. One way analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) adjusted for age, family poverty, racial and ethnic group, immigrant status, and lifetime cannabis use, compared PLE across ethnic density categories and change. RESULTS: Racial and ethnic minorities who grew up in a neighborhood (before age 12) predominantly inhabited by a different group of color (e.g., being Black in a predominantly Asian neighborhood) endorsed significantly more PLE than those who grew up in racially concordant, mixed, or predominantly White neighborhoods. In addition, those reporting a change in perceived neighborhood ethnic density after age 12 endorsed significantly more PLE than those reporting no change. CONCLUSION: Racial dynamics among people of color in urban neighborhood U.S. contexts may create psychological challenges in the social environment. The developmental timing of demographic changes in neighborhoods may influence stress processes that enhance risk for PLE.