The physical and social environments of a neighbourhood can cause and/or reduce stress for residents. However, we know relatively little about the neighbourhood-level stressors and stress-relievers experienced by adolescents, and in particular adolescent girls.
This study explores how adolescent girls (15-17 years) living in one neighbourhood in Halifax, Nova Scotia perceive key characteristics of their neighbourhood’s environments as affecting and/or reducing their stress. Using a qualitative methodology, data were collected from eight participants using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Photo elicitation technique was also used for data collection.
A key finding of this research was that participants experience a strong ‘sense of community’ within their neighbourhood that makes a significant contribution to their stress relief. At the same time, participants reported a number of neighbourhood-level forces that are threatening this sense of community including violence, conflicts, and stigma. This study demonstrates the complexity of the relationship between neighbourhood-level characteristics and residents’ stress.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:NSHD.ca#10222/14323 |
| Date | 14 October 2011 |
| Creators | Lapalme, Josée |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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