Gender Differences in Rates of Depressive Symptoms Among Low-Income, Urban, African-American Youth: A Test of Two Mediational Hypotheses

• NCJ Number: 208329
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 33 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2004 Pages: 523-533
• Author(s): Kathryn E. Grant; Aoife L. Lyons; Jo-Ann S. Finkelstein; Kathryn M. Conway; Linda K. Reynolds; Jeffrey H. O'Koon; Gregory R. Waitkoff; Kira J. Hicks
• Date Published: December 2004
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined whether gender differences existed in depressive symptoms in a sample of 622 low-income, urban, African-American adolescents.

Abstract

Study participants were part of a larger study that examined the impact of stressful life experiences on low-income, urban youth. Seven urban public schools were selected for participation based on high percentages of low-income students, based on the percentage eligible for free/reduced school lunch programs. The average percentage of low-income students across the seven participating schools was 90 percent. The sample for the current study included all African-American adolescents for whom there was complete data on measures that pertained to interpersonal stressors, ruminative coping, and depressive symptoms (n=622). Thirty-two percent of the students were enrolled in the sixth grade (52 percent girls); 31 percent were enrolled in the seventh grade (50 percent girls); and 35 percent were enrolled in the eighth grade (57 percent girls). Interpersonal stressors were assessed with the Urban Adolescent Life Experiences Scale. Ruminative coping was assessed with a modified version of Nolen-Hoeksema's responses to Depression Questionnaire - Rumination Scale; and anxious-depressed symptoms were assessed with the anxious-depressed subscale of the Youth Self-Report. The study found that ruminative coping, but not interpersonal stressors, mediated the relationship between gender and depressive symptoms. "Ruminative coping" is defined as focusing on negative mood, negative aspects of self, or stressors. Girls were more likely than boys to experience heightened rates of depressive symptoms, which is consistent with an extensive body of research that has shown gender differences in rates of depressive symptoms among predominately middle-class European-American samples. The authors note that the weight of the research supports a cognitive vulnerability-stress model in explaining gender differences in depressive symptoms. 3 tables and 80 references