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Stress generation and stress exposure models of the relations among depressive symptoms, minor hassles, and major event stress were investigated among 815 community-dwelling participants. Autoregressive latent trajectory models were constructed to examine latent growth patterns from ages 15 years to 30 years and to test l-year lagged, reciprocal paths between depressive symptoms and stress constructs. Results indicated significant cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and both stress constructs at the latent level. At the manifest level, lagged paths from hassles at 1 year to depressive symptoms at the next year were significant between ages 17 years and 24 years. Significant cross-sectional paths between major events and depressive symptoms were found between ages 24 years and 28 years, and modest support was found for lagged paths from depressive symptoms to major events 1 year later. Findings generally suggest a high degree of covariation in depressive symptoms and stress concurrently and over time. One-year lagged predictive effects net of the associations between individuals' latent trajectories appear to be weak, constrained to specific time periods, and most consistent with a stress exposure effect of hassles on depressive symptoms. Keywords: depression, stress, major events, hassles, trajectories DOI: 10.1037/a0020980

A reexamination of ethnicity as a risk factor for adolescent suicidal behavior, focusing on whether Mexican American youths are at increased risk, was undertaken. Data from a sample of 4,175 African, European, and Mexican Americans, aged 11-17, ate presented. We examined lifetime attempts and past year attempts, thoughts, and plans. Odds ratios, adjusting for covariates, indicate no differences between European and Mexican Americans on past year thoughts, plans, or attempts or lifetime attempts. Although some studies have reported Mexican American youths are at increased risk, we did not find any differences. Possible explanations for disparate results across studies are discussed, in particular methods effects.

Limited data on ethnic group differences among young adolescents exist regarding the prevalence of mental distress, social stress, and resources. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine ethnic differences among African American (AA), European American (EA), Hispanic American (HA), and Asian American adolescents in mental distress, social stress, and resources. A total of 316 adolescents completed the self-administered questionnaire: The DSD, Somatic Symptom Scale, SAFE-C, FES, Coping, and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale. The findings revealed that (1) Asian Americans and HAs reported significantly higher scores on social stress and mental distress and lower scores on resources than EAs; (2) Compared to EAs, AAs and HAs were more likely to experience social stress (2.2 ≤ OR ≤ 4.3), and HAs are more likely to have suicidal ideation (OR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.04 = 3.98). Findings highlighted the importance of understanding the role of social stress in the development of adolescents' mental distress. Identified ethnic minority adolescents are vulnerable groups who require additional research and attention from health care providers., INTRODUCTION Studies, using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV ([DSM-IV] American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994) criteria, estimated that about 15-28% of adolescents would experience depression at least once [...]

The goal of this study was to explore whether a history of sexual abuse is associated with high-risk sexual behaviors Among female adolescents attending alternative schools in a large urban city in the southwestern United States, and to examine the role of depression and substance abuse in explaining this association. One hundred eighty-four sexually active female adolescents constituted the sample for this analysis. Forty-nine (26.6%) reported that they were forced to have sex. Having a history of sexual abuse substantially increased sexual risk behaviors. Adolescents reporting a history of sexual abuse, compared to those who did not report such a history, were significantly more likely to have initiated sexual activity (intercourse) before age 14, to have had three or more sexual partners in the last 3 months, and to have had a history of sexually transmitted diseases. These associations remained significant after controlling for age, ethnicity, and family income. Depression and substance abuse did not explain the association between sexual abuse and high-risk sexual behaviors. It seems reasonable to conclude that adolescents with a history of sexual abuse have greater difficulty practicing safe sexual behaviors than do those who have not been sexually abused. Given the prevalence of child sexual abuse and the extent of its impact, it is critical that intervention strategies for adolescent females address the issue of abuse and help them adopt self-protective sexual behaviors. The findings also highlight the importance of targeting adolescents who attend alternative schools., Epidemiological studies indicate that one third of females and one sixth of males experience sexual abuse before age 18 (Finkelhor, 1979; Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1989; Wyatt, 1985). Studies [...]

The rejection--identification model is investigated with multiple dimensions of ethnic identity in a sample of Mexican American youth. It is hypothesized that more perceived discrimination will be associated with higher ethnic identity in general, but that the multiple dimensions of ethnic identity will be associated differentially with discrimination. Higher perceived discrimination will be associated with more ethnic exploration and less ethnic affirmation. Self-report questionnaires were completed by middle school students of Mexican descent (N = 881). Based on structural equation modeling, the data were found to fit the rejection-identification model (p < .05). Higher discrimination was associated with lower ethnic affirmation (p < .05) and lower ethnic exploration (p < .05). Post hoc analyses indicated a significant interaction between discrimination and ethnic affirmation (p < .01) such that youth with high ethnic affirmation who experienced high discrimination still reported high self-esteem. The findings are discussed in the context of understanding methods of coping with prejudice and discrimination that will enhance the mental well-being of minority youth.

Of 490 middle and high school students attending alternative schools who participated in this study, 18.2% of females and 6.7% of males reported a past unwanted sexual experience. Relative to nonabused subjects, female and male adolescents who reported a forced sexual experience were more likely to exhibit externalizing problems such as sexual risk behaviors and internalizing problems such as depression and suicidal thoughts in the past two weeks. Females with a history of a coercive sexual experience also had increased odds of drug and alcohol use, and violence-related behaviors. The magnitude of these associations ranged from a twofold increase to a tenfold increase. Controlling for ethnicity, family income, and family support had less impact on the strength of associations between a forced sexual experience and sexual risk behaviors for females than for males. A forced sexual experience remained significantly associated with depression for females and suicidal thoughts for males. Alcohol use in the past 30 days was the only substance use-related problem that remained significant for females. Violence-related behaviors did not remain significant in the presence of control variables for females. Interventions focusing on adolescents with a history of a coercive sexual experience in general, and in alternative schools in particular, are suggested by these results. More research focusing on the differential impact of a coercive sexual experience on males and females is crucial., An estimated 7% to 53% of American women, and 3% to 37% of American men, have been victims of a coercive sexual experience during childhood or adolescence. (1) Estimates of [...]

Data from self-report surveys of 1,353 high school students representing three culturally distinct American Indian tribes were analyzed for tribal differences in factors associated with suicidal ideation. In the multivariate analysis, no single correlate of suicide ideation was common to all three tribes. The correlates of suicide ideation were consistent with each tribe's social structure, conceptualization of individual and gender roles, support systems, and conceptualization of death. These results underscore the heterogeneity of suicide ideation across three distinct American Indian tribes consistent with their cultural heterogeneity. Suicide prevention and screening programs may be difficult to adapt from one tribe to another.

Although religiosity is protective for mortality and morbidity, its relationship with depression is unclear. We used the 1994 Alameda County Study survey of 2,537 subjects aged 50-102 to analyze associations between two forms of religiosity and depression as well as the extent to which religiosity buffers relationships between stressors and depression. Non-organizational religiosity included prayer and importance of religious and spiritual beliefs; organizational religiosity included attendance at services and other activities. Non-organizational religiosity had no association with depression; organizational religiosity had a negative relationship that weakened slightly with the addition of health controls. Both forms of religiosity buffered associations with depression for non-family stressors, such as financial and health problems. However, non-organizational religiosity exacerbated associations with depression for child problems, and organizational religiosity exacerbated associations with depression for marital problems, abuse, and caregiving. Religiosity may help those experiencing non-family stressors, but may worsen matters for those facing family crises.

Data on symptoms of major depressive episodes were examined for the 1994 cohort (n = 2,417) of the Alameda County Study (mean age = 65). In addition to age, we examined gender, education, marital status, social isolation and social support, perceived physical and mental health, chronic medical conditions, functional impairment, life events, financial strain, and neighborhood quality. The point prevalence of symptoms of major depressive episodes was 6.6 percent for men and 10.1 percent for women, with a trend for prevalence to increase with age. When the effects of the other psychosocial risk factors were controlled, there were no significant age effects. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that apparent initial age effects were due almost entirely to chronic health problems and functional impairment. The implications are clear: Healthy, normal-functioning older adults are at no greater risk of depression than younger adults. Apparent age-related effects on depression are attributable to physical health problems and related disability.

Clinicians tend to have problems in identifying depression among older adults, and a survey of 1,005 adults living in the community has been carried out to assess the usefulness of a screening procedure. The procedure is the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). There are a number of factors such as functional impairment which it was feared could affect the efficacy of the CES-D, but this did not appear to be the case. It is also possible to use a shortened version of the CES-D as an efficient screening tool for older adults.

This study investigated the relations among depression, acculturation, and socioeconomic status (SES) in a young-adult Latino sample. Data were obtained from 1,271 Latino first-year college students; 89% self-labeled as either Mexican American or Hispanic, and 11% as Mexican National. Symptoms of depression were compared for various acculturation levels, and bicultural groups with controls for SES and gender. The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans-II (ARSMA-II) was used to assess acculturation characteristics. Clinical depression and symptoms of depression were measured using the DSD26 Symptom Scale for assessment of depressive symptoms and major depression. Variance in depression scores was found to be influenced more by gender and SES than by acculturation or ethnic identity status. Assimilated Mexican Americans reported significantly fewer symptoms of depression than their more traditional counterparts. Ethnicity and acculturation per se were not found to lessen or increase risk for depression but SES associated with ethnicity was found to directly affect depression scores., Studies using measures of depression as indicators of well-being and adjustment or as indicators of the impact of sociocultural and other environmental processes on mental health are popular (National Institute [...]

Data from an ethnically diverse sample of middle school (Grades 6-8) students (n = 5,423) are analYzed for ethnic differences in major depression. The point prevalence of major depression was 8.4% without and 4.3% with impairment. Data were sufficient to calculate prevalences for nine ethnic groups. Prevalences adjusted for impairment ranged from 1.9% for youths of Chinese descent to 6.6% for those of Mexican decent. African and Mexican American youths had significantly higher crude rates of depression without impairment, but only the latter had significantly higher rates of depression with impairment. Multivariate (logistic regression) analyses, adjusting for the effects of age, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES), yielded significant odds ratios for only one group. Mexican American youths were at elevated risk for both depression without (OR = 1.74, p [less than] .05) and depression with impairment (OR = 1.71, p [less than] .05). There was no significant interaction of ethnicity and SES in relation to depression. Females had higher prevalences of depression with and without impairment, as did youths who reported that their SES was somewhat or much worse off than their peers. The data add to growing evidence that Mexican American youths are at increased risk of depression, and that community intervention efforts should specificallY target this high-risk group. KEY WORDS: depression; prevalence; adolescents; ethnicity.

The Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was subjected to principal component (PC) analysis with oblique rotation, as well as an examination of internal consistency, using data obtained from 2,016 adult employees aged 19-63 years. Analyses focused on age differences in these psychometric properties of the CES-D. Coefficient-[Alpha] was sufficiently high for all age groups but was lower than reported in U.S. studies. Positive affect items lowered internal consistency. The PC analyses extracted four factors for each age group. Depressive affect items did not group into one factor; some were combined with somatic or interpersonal items, and the remainder constituted the smallest factor. These three main factors, 'somatic + depressed', 'interpersonal + negative' and 'positive affect' were comparable across age groups except for those aged 50-63 years. For those aged 50-63 years, the first two factors were combined into a large 'general dysphoria' factor, suggesting a more unified conceptualization of depressive mood. Although 'positive affect' was stable cross-culturally, it was not related to depressive symptomatology as measured by the other items, for Japanese. The 'interpersonal + negative' appears unique for Japanese, indicating the association of interpersonal relations with depressive mood in Japanese. The effects of age-specific ethnocultural factors in Japan on depressive symptomatology are discussed. Key words - age, cross-cultural psychiatry, depression, Japanese, somatization

A study conducted on a sample of 2,600 Mexican American and Anglo-American school students to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Roberts revision of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (RULS-8) shows that the RULS-8 is valid and reliable for measuring adolescent loneliness. The non-response rates for Mexican Americans are higher than for Anglo-Americans because of the problems of comprehension. The RULS-8 also showed a uniform cross-cultural internal consistency. Both the ethnic groups have similar patterns in their mean scores of depression, which is directly connected with loneliness.

Analysis of adolescent psychopathology of two consecutive years identifies psychological variables that cause depression. The psychological variables of depressed individuals vary from that of nondepressed people. Depression-related features develop from mental disorders, behavior problems, past suicide attempts and physical problems. Present and future depression variable control are devoid of gender difference that is dominant in past depression.

In preparation for a community-based study of depression in adolescence, several pilot studies were conducted with samples of adolescents. The purpose of these studies was to evaluate the reliability and association with depression of several instruments when used with older (14- to 18-year-old) adolescents. These instruments included measures of cognitions, body image, self-esteem, self-awareness, social interactions with peers and family, social support, micro- and macrostressful life events, anxiety and tension, positive affect, antisocial or oppositional behavior, suicidal ideation, and vocabulary. The internal consistency reliability and stability of most of the instruments were satisfactory. In addition, most instruments were associated with a measure of depression, Radloff's Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale. Several of the scales were successfully abbreviated using techniques based on factor analysis and item analysis., An analysis of dependability and its relation with depression of various tools, when applied to older adolescents, formed part of a community-based analysis of depression in adolescents. Acceptable internal consistency reliability and stability resulted for many of the techniques. A majority of them even related to Radloff's Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, a measure of depression.

An 8-item loneliness scale was administered to a sample of high school students (N = 1,710) twice, about one year apart. The scale exhibited good internal consistency reliability (alphas of 0.78 and 0.79, respectively), was relatively independent of gender effects, and demonstrated evidence of construct validity. Factor analysis of the items yielded a two-factor solution which met methodological criteria, but over-all the data suggested a method artifact, e.g., positively and negatively worded items factored separately. Examination of the two factors indicated the subscale of four negative items (lack companionship, no longer close, left out, feel isolated) had an Alpha reliability of .77, correlated .89 with the total scale score, and exhibited virtually an identical pattern of associations with a set of theoretically relevant variables as the full scale. This four-item scale may be useful in epidemiologic surveys in which over-all response burden is an issue.

Data were collected on the point and lifetime prevalences, 1-year incidence, and comorbidity of depression with other disorders (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.)) in a randomly selected sample (n = 1,710) of high school students at point of entry and at 1-year follow-up (n = 1,508). The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children was used to collect diagnostic information; 9.6% met criteria for a current disorder, more than 33% had experienced a disorder over their lifetimes, and 31.7% of the latter had experienced a second disorder. High relapse rates were found for all disorders, especially for unipolar depression (18.4%) and substance use (15.0%). Female subjects had significantly higher rates at all age levels for unipolar depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and adjustment disorders; male subjects had higher rates of disruptive behavior disorders.

This research investigated differences in prevalence of depressive symptoms among adolescents from diverse ethnocultural groups. Data from a national survey of persons 12-17 years of age (n = 2200) were analyzed, comparing symptom levels of Anglo, African, Mexican, and other Hispanic Americans using a 12-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Overall, the results indicate differences in rates of depression. Females reported more symptoms of depression than males in every ethnic group. Among the ethnic groups, Mexican American males reported more depressive symptoms than other males and the same was true for Mexican American females, although to a lesser extent. Logistic regression of three different caseness scores (16+, 21+, 31+), adjusting for age, gender, perceived health, and occupation of the primary wage earner in the household, indicated that only Mexican American adolescents reported more depressive symptoms than the Anglo majority. The relative risk ranged from 1.46 to 1.83.

The relationship between psychological distress, in this case depression, and subsequent risk of mortality is examined using data from the Alameda County (California) Study, an 18-yr, three-wave prospective investigation of psychosocial risk factors and health. The results indicate no relationship between psychological morbidity and all-cause mortality or specific causes of death. While these results are discordant with those reported from a majority of studies of psychiatric patients, they are concordant with a majority of community-based studies of the general adult population. Possible methodologic explanations are discussed which might account for disparate results reported to date, in particular failure to control for the effects of co-morbidity of somatic disorders and socioeconomic status.

This report describes ethnic and gender differences in suicide ideation among two large samples of middle school students in New Mexico (n = 2,140) and Texas (n = 1,302). Students completed a self-administered questionnaire on suicide ideation and psychosocial risk factors. Mexican Americans in both samples reported significantly higher prevalence of suicide ideation than did their European American counterparts. Mexican Americans were 1.8 times more likely to have high suicide ideation than European Americans. The suicide ideation risk for Mexican Americans remained unchanged in both samples after adjusting for gender, age, family structure, depression, low social support, and self-esteem. This study indicates that ethnicity plays an important role in suicidal ideation, but the mechanism remains unclear.

THIS research examined fatalism, the belief in external control over life chances, as a risk factor for adolescent depression. Data were analyzed from a large (N = 5,423) sample of adolescents attending middle school in an ethnically diverse community in the southwest. It was hypothesized that adolescents who demonstrated greater fatalism would have a higher risk for depression. Bivariate associations between fatalism and depression were substantial, with an odds ratio (OR) of nearly 25 for depression with impairment and nearly 13 for depression without impairment. Adjustment for the effects of 10 covariates drawn from three domains (status attributes, stressors, and personal/social resources) essentially eliminated the association between fatalism and depression with impairment. However, the OR was still 2.6. The significant association between fatalism and depression without impairment (OR = 2.7) remained after adjustment for covariates. The results provide further support for models of depression which emphasize the role of psychosocial deficits. In this case, we found depression was associated not only with greater fatalism but also greater pessimism, lower self-esteem, more passive coping, and less social support.

The attitudes of adolescents towards out-groups and the relation between ethnic identity components and discrimination were analysed using a social identity theory framework, with a greater sense of ethnic affirmation found to be related to more positive attitudes towards other groups. The positive sense of ethnic affirmation was indirectly associated with discrimination via attitudes towards out-groups. Positive race relations could be generated by the individuals' positive evaluation of their own ethnic group.