Race/ethnicity, built environment in neighborhood, and children's mental health in the US.

The prevention and treatment of mental health disorders in childhood and adolescence is one among the major public health challenges in the United States today. Prior research has suggested that neighborhood is very important for children and adolescents' mental health. The present study extends the research on neighborhood and mental health by examining the association between childhood mental health and the identified specific built environment attributes in neighborhood as well as its intersection with race/ethnicity in the United States. Statistical analyses results of data from the 2016 National Survey of Children Health (NSCH) indicate that children's mental health and the built environment in neighborhood vary across racial/ethnic groups, with minority groups being more likely to live in the disadvantaged neighborhoods and to experience more mental health disorders, particularly American Indian children. Further, the relationship between built environment neighborhood mental health among children varies across race/ethnicity in the United States.