Stratification Stress: Contextualizing Status Variations in Stress Vulnerability.

Key Words: Stress Vulnerability, SES, SEX, Blacks, Neighborhood This paper contributes to the growing research investigating how variations in stress exposure, due to stratification, may account for differences in vulnerability to depression. Previous research on stress has focused on checklist measures to account for black/white differences in depression without much attention to the role of stratification in accounting for different stressful experiences. An additional dimension of status included is neighborhood characteristics where residential segregation patterns populations racially, economically and socially. Results indicate variations in SES and sex were significant predictors of depression. Discrimination and neighborhood context played minimal roles in predicting depression. Suggestions for future research investigating how stressful life events and other social stressors induce depressive symptoms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]