If They Grow up: Exploring the Neighborhood Context of Adolescent and Young Adult Survival Expectations

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines individual and neighborhood predictors of adolescent and young adult survival expectations-their confidence of surviving to age 35. Analyses revealed that within-person increases in depression and violent perpetration decreased the odds of expecting to survive. Individuals who rated themselves in good health and received routine physical care had greater survival expectations. Consistent with documented health disparities, Black and Hispanic youth had lower survival expectations than did their White peers. Neighborhood poverty was linked to diminished survival expectations both within and between persons, with the between-person association remaining significant controlling for mental and physical health, exposure to violence, own violence, and a wide range of sociodemographic factors.