Brief report: Explaining differences in depressive symptoms between African American and European American adolescents
- 12 November 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Adolescence
- Vol. 46 (1), 25-29
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.10.017
Abstract
African American adolescents report more depressive symptoms than their European American peers, but the reasons for these differences are poorly understood. This study examines whether risk factors in individual, family, school, and community domains explain these differences. African American and European American adolescents participating in the Birmingham Youth Violence Study (N = 594; mean age 13.2 years) reported on their depressive symptoms, pubertal development, aggressive and delinquent behavior, connectedness to school, witnessing violence, and poor parenting. Primary caregivers provided information on family income and their education level, marital status, and depression, and the adolescents' academic performance. African American adolescents reported more depressive symptoms than European American participants. Family socioeconomic factors reduced this difference by 29%; all risk factors reduced it by 88%. Adolescents' exposure to violence, antisocial behavior, and low school connectedness, as well as lower parental education and parenting quality, emerged as significant mediators of the group differences in depressive symptoms.Funding Information
- National Institutes of Health (R01MH098348)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R49‐CCR418569)
- National Institutes of Health (R01MH098348)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R49-CCR418569)
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- Race/ethnicity and internalizing disorders in youth: A reviewClinical Psychology Review, 2010
- Parental Familial Vulnerability, Family Environment, and Their Interactions as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms in AdolescentsJournal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2004
- Dating violence prevention with at-risk youth: A controlled outcome evaluation.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2003
- Disentangling the “whys” from the “whats” of aggressive behaviourInternational Journal of Behavioral Development, 2003
- Parenting in Context: Impact of Neighborhood Poverty, Residential Stability, Public Services, Social Networks, and Danger on Parental BehaviorsJournal of Marriage and Family, 2001
- Major depressive disorder in older adolescents: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implicationsClinical Psychology Review, 1998
- Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development.American Psychologist, 1998
- Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development.American Psychologist, 1998
- Depressive Symptoms by Self-Report in Adolescence: Phase I of the Development of a Questionnaire for Depression by Self-ReportJournal of Child Neurology, 1990
- The Impact of Economic Hardship on Black Families and Children: Psychological Distress, Parenting, and Socioemotional DevelopmentChild Development, 1990