The Cumulative Influence of Perceived Discrimination, Stress, and Coping Responses on Symptoms of Depression Among Young African American Mothers.

Abstract

African American women have an elevated risk for experiencing depressive symptoms, and discrimination, stress, and coping contribute to symptoms of depression. We aimed to examine the associations between discrimination, stress, and coping on symptoms of depression among young African American mothers. In this retrospective study, we utilized a hierarchical linear regression to explore the effects of perceived racial discrimination, stress, and general and discrimination-related coping responses on depressive symptoms in a sample of African American mothers (N = 250). The data were drawn from the Intergenerational Impact of Genetic and Psychological Factors on Blood Pressure study (InterGEN), a study conducted between 2014 and 2019 and based in Connecticut. After accounting for maternal age, level of education, and income, greater perceived racial discrimination (p = .03), higher levels of stress (p < .001), greater engagement in avoidance coping (p < .001), and use of passive coping responses to discrimination (p = .04) were uniquely associated with increased depressive symptoms. Other forms of coping, specifically, problem-solving and support seeking, did not appear to influence depressive symptoms in this sample. The findings highlight the negative impact of discrimination, heightened stress, and maladaptive coping on the emotional health of young African American mothers.