Predictors of depressive symptomatology among low-income adolescent mothers

Abstract

Predictors of depressive symptomatology among low-income teen mothers (N = 751) were explored. Younger teen mothers were not more depressed than older teen mothers. There was a significant interaction effect for partner status and ethnicity. For African-Americans, partnered teen mothers were more likely than non-partnered teen mothers to be depressed. For Latinas, partnered teen mothers were less likely than non-partnered teen mothers to be depressed. Future research should be conducted to examine how ethnicity interacts with predictors of depression.