Ethnic and Sex Differences in Children's Depressive Symptoms: Mediating Effects of Perceived and Actual Competence

Abstract

Examined ethnic and sex differences in depressive symptoms, along with hypothesized mediators of those differences (academic achievement, peer acceptance), for a sample of African American (n = 272) and Euro-American (n = 630) children in Grades 3 to 5. Group comparisons revealed a significant Ethnicity ×Sex interaction in depressive symptoms. African American boys reported more depressive symptoms than Euro-American boys, whereas African American and Euro-American girls reported comparable levels of depressive symptoms. Sex differences in depressive symptoms differed by ethnicity: Boys were more depressed than girls in the African American group whereas girls were more depressed than boys in the Euro-American group. The Ethnicity ×Sex interaction was mediated by academic achievement, but not peer acceptance. These findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying depressive symptoms in preadolescence and for developing interventions to prevent depression.