Racial and ethnic differences in depression: the roles of social support and meeting basic needs.

The current work examined the depressive symptoms and prevalence of major depression among members of ethnic and racial minorities and White people from a large random sample. Minority group members experienced more depressive symptoms and a marginally higher prevalence of major depression than did White participants. These effects were mediated by participants' problems meeting their basic needs. Specifically, minority group members reported more problems meeting their basic needs, and these problems were associated with an increased risk for depression and depressive symptoms. Minority group members also reported a higher quality of interpersonal functioning than White participants did, which appeared to suppress the relationship between ethnicity and depression. The implications of the findings for treatment are discussed.