Early adolescent, multi-ethnic, urban youth's exposure to patterns of alcohol-related neighborhood characteristics.

This study identified heterogeneous classes of alcohol-related neighborhood characteristics to which multi-ethnic, early adolescents in urban communities are exposed. The sample comprised 4,215 youth from 42 community areas in Chicago, Illinois who completed surveys at the beginning of 6th grade (2002). Neighborhood measures included: (1) mean number of alcohol outlets per 1,000 population per community area; (2) alcohol purchase attempt rate by pseudo-underage youth; (3) average number of alcohol advertisements within 1,500 feet of each school per community; and (4) a Census 2000-based deprivation index. Parents and community leaders provided data on perceived neighborhood problems and parental prevention actions, and neighborhood strength and preventive action by communities, law enforcement, and community organizations, respectively. Multilevel latent class analysis identified the number and characteristics of heterogeneous latent neighborhood classes in which these youth are exposed. Five classes best described the heterogeneity among the sample: (1) Low social capital/low exposure/high access to alcohol (19.8%), (2) Low social capital/low exposure/low access to alcohol (24.5%), (3) Moderate social capital/low exposure/high access to alcohol (30.0%), (4) Moderate social capital/moderate exposure/low access to alcohol (20.1%), and (5) High social capital/moderate exposure/high access to alcohol (5.6%). The racial/ethnic distribution among the classes varied considerably. Results suggest there is substantive heterogeneity among this seemingly homogeneous urban population. Further, they highlight the socioeconomic disadvantage of these inner-city communities and the resource disparity across the racial/ethnic groups. Understanding the nuances among communities may lend to development of more efficacious preventive interventions and policy initiatives, inform theory, and help prioritize limited resources.