A Longitudinal Examination of Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Among Inner-City African-American Children and Adolescents

We longitudinally examined across four years the presence and correlates of depressive symptoms in a sample of inner-city African-American children, an ethnic minority population which is understudied regarding child depressive symptoms. Results, based on mother- and child-report, did not indicate gender differences in depressive symptoms at the onset of adolescence. However, depressive symptoms did significantly predict future child adjustment problems. Implications for the understanding and future study of depressive symptoms in ethnic minority youth are discussed.