Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Aug;5(4):808-819.
doi: 10.1007/s40615-017-0426-1. Epub 2017 Aug 25.

High Risk of Depression in High-Income African American Boys

Shervin Assari  1   2 , Cleopatra H Caldwell  3   4
Affiliations

High Risk of Depression in High-Income African American Boys

Shervin Assari et al. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Despite the well-established literature on the protective effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on physical and mental health, there are a few reports on poor mental health of blacks with high SES. Using a national sample, this study investigated the association between household income and risk of major depressive disorder (MDD) in black youth based on ethnicity, gender, and their intersection.

Methods: One thousand one hundred seventeen black adolescents (810 African Americans and 360 Caribbean blacks) were included in the current study. Household income was the main predictor. MDD (lifetime, 12-month, and 30-day) was the main outcome. Age was the covariate. Ethnicity and gender were the focal moderators. Logistic regressions were used for data analysis.

Results: In the pooled sample, household income was not associated with risk of MDD (lifetime, 12-month, or 30-day). We found significant interactions between income and gender on lifetime and 12-month MDD, suggesting a stronger protective effect of income on MDD for females than males. We also found significant interaction between income and ethnicity on 30-day MDD, suggesting stronger protective effect of income against MDD for Caribbean blacks than African Americans. In African American males, high household income was associated with higher risk of lifetime, 12-month, and 30-day MDD. For Caribbean black males and females, high household income was associated with lower odds of 30-day MDD.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that ethnicity and gender influence how socioeconomic resources such as income are associated with MDD risk among black youth. Higher household income may be associated with higher risk of MDD for African American males.

Keywords: Blacks; Depression; Ethnic groups; Ethnicity; Gender; Income; Socioeconomic status (SES).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Shervin Assari and Cleopatra Caldwell declare that they have no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Phelan JC, Link BG, Tehranifar P. Social conditions as fundamental causes of health inequalities: theory, evidence, and policy implications. J Health Soc Behav. 2010; 51 Suppl:S28–40. - PubMed
    1. Conti G, Heckman J, Urzua S. The education-health gradient. Am Econ Rev. 2010; 100(2): 234–238. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baker DP, Leon J, Smith Greenaway EG, Collins J, Movit M. The education effect on population health: a reassessment.Popul Dev Rev. 2011;37(2):307–32. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Davey S, Hart C, Hole D, MacKinnon P, Gillis C, Watt G., Blane D Hawthorne V Education and occupational social class: which is the more important indicator of mortality risk? J Epidemiol Community Health. 1998; 52(3): 153–160. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bowen ME, González HM. Childhood socioeconomic position and disability in later life: results of the health and retirement study. Am J Public Health. 2010. 1;100 Suppl 1:S197–203. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources