A Pilot Study on the Influence of Community on Individuals Mental Health: A Social Ecological Perspective

Specifically, variables across different levels which include one\'s attributes, neighborhood experience, and community characteristics would be examined to explore their relationship with one\'s mental health. Communities in southern Taiwan, including one district from Kaohsiung City and four townships (Hsiang) from Kaohsiung County, were purposively selected to represent three different types (urban, suburban and rural) of communities after which, by random sampling, 416 subjects were recruited for the interview survey.

Questionnaire containing the measure for mental health (CHQ) and perceived neighboring experience was administered for data collection. At the same time, data derived from the governmental archives were aggregated to indicate the characteristics of a community which included population density, community socioeconomic condition, and community stability. The multilevel analysis showed that personal income, community socioeconomic condition, and perceived social support from neighborhood were statistically significant when associated with one\'s mental health status.