Does neighborhood collective efficacy for families change over time? The Boston Neighborhood Survey.

There is an increased interest in how neighborhood social processes, such as collective efficacy, may protect mental health. Yet little is known about how stable these neighborhood processes are over time, or how to change them to influence other downstream factors. We used a population-based, repeat cross-sectional study of adults (n=5135) to assess stability of collective efficacy for families in 38 Boston neighborhoods across 4 years (2006, 2008, 2010) (the Boston Neighborhood Survey). We test temporal stability of collective efficacy for families across and within neighborhoods using 2-level random effects linear regression, fixed effects linear regression, T-tests, and Wilcoxon rank tests. Across the different methods, neighborhood collective efficacy for families remained stable across 4 years, after adjustment for neighborhood composition. If neighborhood collective efficacy is measured within 4 years of the exposure period of interest, assuming temporal stability may be valid.