The Impact of Childhood Trauma and Neighborhood Disorder on Post-Injury Recovery Among Urban Black Men

A new study published in the Journal of Urban Health by researchers from Penn Nursing sheds light on the significant impact that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and perceived neighborhood disorder have on the mental health of Black men following serious traumatic injuries. This research emphasizes the critical role that social and environmental factors play in post-injury recovery.

“This study underscores how social determinants of health can profoundly influence individual well-being,” says lead author Therese Richmond, PhD, RN FAAN, who is also known as the Andrea B. Laporte Professor of Nursing in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences at Penn Nursing. “Our findings highlight that addressing both childhood trauma and the reality of living in neighborhoods with high levels of perceived disorder are essential for enhancing mental health and overall recovery among Black men after injury.”

The study, which analyzed data from 414 Black men who had suffered acute physical injuries requiring hospitalization, looked into how ACEs combined with neighborhood characteristics like perceptions of disorder and objective measures of social and economic disadvantage affect post-injury outcomes such as PTSD, depression, sleep quality, and the ability to return to work. The research revealed that perceiving one’s neighborhood as disordered significantly increased the likelihood of experiencing PTSD and depression after injury.

“This finding underscores how crucial it is for interventions to not only address an individual’s history of trauma but also consider their local environment along with social and economic factors,” explains Sara F. Jacoby, PhD, MPH, MSN, FAAN, senior author of the study and Associate Professor of Nursing at Penn Nursing.

The findings suggest that effective strategies should target both ACE prevention as well as improving neighborhood conditions to improve post-injury outcomes for Black men. Additionally, addressing mental health issues arising from recovery in high-disorder neighborhoods holds potential for better overall results.

This research was financially supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R49 CE003083) and by the National Institutes of Health (R01NR013503). The study’s co-authors included Ryan Quinn and Augustine Cassis Obeng Boateng from Penn Nursing, Anna Duan from Penn’s Weitzman School of Design, Christopher Morrison, PhD, from Columbia University School of Public Health, and Nancy Kassam-Adams, PhD, from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.