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This study examined the impact of neighborhood racial discrimination on the development of major depressive disorder (MDD) in a sample of African American women. Participants were 499 women from Georgia and Iowa with no history of MDD who were followed for 9 to 11 years. Several neighborhood characteristics (community social disorder, community cohesion, and community racism) and individual characteristics (negative life events, financial strain, personal outlook, religious involvement, relationship quality, negative affectivity, and individual experiences of racism) were employed as predictors of whether or not the women met criteria for MDD during this period of time. In a multilevel logistic regression analysis, neighborhood-level discrimination as well as individual-level variables including the number of negative life events, financial strain, and negative affectivity were found to be significant predictors of developing MDD. Analyses of cross-level interactions indicated that the effects of neighborhood-level discrimination were moderated by the quality of individuals' relationships, such that better relationships with others served to lessen the effect of neighborhood discrimination on depression. Implications of these findings for understanding the negative effects of racial discrimination are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).)

Objective: The objective was to investigate whether increasing health heterogeneity during the middle years is attributed, at least in part, to the influence of varying levels of, and changes in, work control of the current midlife cohort., Method: The study used four waves of data collected from 372 employed rural women and 320 employed men of the midlife cohort during a 10-year period. Variables included self-reported work control, stressful nonwork life events, and mental and physical health. The analyses used latent growth curve modeling., Results: The results partially supported the hypothesized pathways. For middle-aged men, work control directly influences health outcomes, whereas for middle-aged women work control indirectly influences health outcomes through the occurrence of stressful life events., Discussion: Through understanding these processes, work can be better designed to promote positive health outcomes, minimize negative health outcomes, and allow for better formulation and more effective implementation of health promotional programs.

Objectives: The authors' objective was to investigate processes that account for the transmission of socioeconomic adversity from one generation to the next through mental disorder and physical illness., Methods: The present longitudinal study of 485 youth used structural equation models to test an intergenerational model proposing that: (a) stressful childhood experiences in the family of origin contribute to the development of mental disorder and physical illness during adolescence both directly and indirectly through disruption in an adolescent's transition to young adulthood; (b) during the transition to adulthood, mental disorders and physical illnesses increase in part through reciprocal influence; and (c) both the levels of and changes in mental disorder and physical illness are independently associated with adverse life circumstances during early adulthood., Results: Findings generally supported the hypothesized model. Family of origin adversity contributed to the impaired mental and physical health of adolescents. This influence was largely mediated through adolescents' disrupted transition to young adulthood. Levels of both mental and physical illnesses independently contributed to young adult adversity. Levels of physical health problems influenced changes in mental disorders. Changes in both mental and physical illnesses are also associated with young adult adversity., Discussion: The study demonstrates key mediating pathways in the intergenerational transmission of social adversity and also highlights the importance of improving both socioeconomic and health resources for adolescents.