Donte L Bernard1, Colleen A Halliday2, Funlola Are3, Devin E Banks4, Carla Kmett Danielson5. 1. National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA. bernadon@musc.edu. 2. Center for Global and Community Health, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA. 3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center At Houston, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. 4. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63131, USA. 5. National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Racial discrimination constitutes a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms among Black youth. Rumination, a maladaptive self-regulatory stress response, is a notable pathway by which racial discrimination contributes to depressive symptoms among racial/ethnic minority adults. Yet, examinations of the mechanistic nature of rumination in the context of racial discrimination among racial/ethnic minority youth remain limited. The present study investigated rumination as a mediator of the association between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among Black youth. METHODS: Data for the current study were drawn from baseline questionnaire responses of community recruited Black pre-and-early adolescents (N = 158, 53% female, Mage = 11.50) in the southeast USA participating in an ongoing longitudinal study examining the effects of interpersonal stressors on youth mental health outcomes. RESULTS: After adjusting for age and gender, mediation analyses revealed a significant indirect effect of racial discrimination on depressive symptoms through rumination, estimate = 0.29, 95% confidence interval [0.12, 0.47]. Racial discrimination was positively associated with rumination (b = .74, SE = .23, p = .001), and rumination, in turn, was positively associated with depressive symptoms (b = .40, SE = .06, p < .001). CONCLUSION: Consistent with previous research, we found racial discrimination to be directly and indirectly associated with depressive symptoms among Black youth. Findings provide evidence of the cognitive burden of discriminatory experiences and suggest that rumination represents a potential pathway that can be targeted at early developmental stages to reduce the deleterious impact of racism-related stressors.
BACKGROUND: Racial discrimination constitutes a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms among Black youth. Rumination, a maladaptive self-regulatory stress response, is a notable pathway by which racial discrimination contributes to depressive symptoms among racial/ethnic minority adults. Yet, examinations of the mechanistic nature of rumination in the context of racial discrimination among racial/ethnic minority youth remain limited. The present study investigated rumination as a mediator of the association between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among Black youth. METHODS: Data for the current study were drawn from baseline questionnaire responses of community recruited Black pre-and-early adolescents (N = 158, 53% female, Mage = 11.50) in the southeast USA participating in an ongoing longitudinal study examining the effects of interpersonal stressors on youth mental health outcomes. RESULTS: After adjusting for age and gender, mediation analyses revealed a significant indirect effect of racial discrimination on depressive symptoms through rumination, estimate = 0.29, 95% confidence interval [0.12, 0.47]. Racial discrimination was positively associated with rumination (b = .74, SE = .23, p = .001), and rumination, in turn, was positively associated with depressive symptoms (b = .40, SE = .06, p < .001). CONCLUSION: Consistent with previous research, we found racial discrimination to be directly and indirectly associated with depressive symptoms among Black youth. Findings provide evidence of the cognitive burden of discriminatory experiences and suggest that rumination represents a potential pathway that can be targeted at early developmental stages to reduce the deleterious impact of racism-related stressors.
Authors: Debra L Franko; Ruth H Striegel-Moore; Judy Bean; Bruce A Barton; Frank Biro; Helena C Kraemer; George B Schreiber; Patricia B Crawford; Stephen R Daniels Journal: J Adolesc Health Date: 2005-12 Impact factor: 5.012
Authors: Mary L Woody; Elizabeth C Bell; Nicolas A Cruz; Anna Wears; Riana E Anderson; Rebecca B Price Journal: Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks) Date: 2022-08-09