Heterogeneity in Youth Depressive Symptom Trajectories: Social Stratification and Implications for Young Adult Physical Health

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The first objective of this study was to investigate young adult physical health implications of adolescent depressive symptom trajectories. The second objective was to investigate the social stratification of adolescent depressive symptom trajectories. Data came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The analysis included the identification of depressive symptom trajectory groups. These four groups were then compared in terms of socioeconomic characteristics and change in physical health problems, from adolescence to young adulthood. Youth in the chronically high, increasing, and decreasing depressive symptoms groups showed significantly higher increases in physical health problems and poorer socioeconomic characteristics than did the consistently low group. The associations of adolescent depressive symptom trajectory groups with changes in physical health provide evidence for the etiological processes through which depression influences physical health. Differing socioeconomic characteristics of depressive symptom trajectory groups suggest social stratification of trajectories.