Although there is clear evidence that specific neighborhood conditions can negatively affect mental health, few studies have examined the neurophysiological mechanisms by which these factors undermine mental health or the individual and social factors that may increase or reduce risk for young adults in the context of such adversity. This project will elucidate: (i) neurophysiological stress mechanisms by which neighborhood adversity impacts mental health; and (ii) biopsychosocial factors that influence these effects during the transition to adulthood. The central hypothesis is that neighborhood poverty and disinvestment predict poor mental health by impacting neurophysiological stress systems, while individual, family, and social factors moderate the impact of neighborhood adversity on neurophysiology and mental health. This hypothesis will be tested across three specific aims: 1) Determine the associations between neighborhood adversity (e.g., neighborhood sociodemographics, history of disinvestment) and mental health; 2) Elucidate neurophysiological stress mechanisms linking neighborhood adversity and mental health at three levels: corticolimbic, autonomic, and immune; and 3) Identify individual vulnerability (i.e., chronic exposure to poverty and violence) and family, social, and community resilience factors (e.g., involved parenting, neighborhood social cohesion, religious involvement) that moderate the neighborhood adversity-mental health link. We will test these associations in 750 young adults at age 24 from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study. This ongoing study of children born to families from predominantly low-income backgrounds has multiple scientific strengths: 1) Children were assessed at birth, 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, 21, and 22 years; 2) The sample is representative of children born in large U.S. cities with considerable variation in neighborhood and policy contexts; and 3) Participants are entering early adulthood, a critical developmental period of increased risk for poor mental health outcomes. By identifying these neighborhood adversity-mental health pathways across multiple geographic units, with multi-level neurophysiological assessment, and measurement of protective social factors in a 22-year longitudinal birth cohort sample, the study will provide a strong evidence base to inform new opportunities for policy and interventions to decrease the impact of neighborhood adversity on mental health and promote wellbeing.