Symptoms of Depression Depend on Rigid Parenting Attitudes, Gender, and Race in an At-Risk Sample of Early Adolescents

Abstract

Trajectories of depressive symptoms were compared between European American and African American boys and girls from ages 8 to 14 in a longitudinal sample of 130 children born to adolescent mothers. Mixed-effects regression modeling was used to analyze individual and group differences in level of depressive symptoms and their changes over time. Time-varying predictors included rigid parenting attitudes, maternal depression, and maternal educational attainment. African American boys reported more symptoms of depression at age 8 than African American girls or European American boys or girls. Symptoms of depression increased over time only for European American girls. Rigid parenting attitudes, but not maternal depression or maternal educational attainment, were associated with children’s depressive symptoms. Results substantiate the importance of differentiating groups by gender and race in conceptual models of depression.