Epidemiology of depressive symptoms in black communities. A comparative analysis.

Data from a community survey of depressive symptoms in a black community in Alabama are analyzed using a binary regression procedure to assess the effects of sociodemographic risk factors. These results are compared to two other studies of depressive symptoms in black communities using the same methods to assess the interaction of risk factors with community/region. Community/region is found to modify the relationship of sex, marital status, and income to rates of depressive symptoms within black populations. It is argued that this interaction is evidence of differential sociocultural processes operating in these communities. Suggestions for more detailed research on depressive symptoms in the black community are offered.