Depressive symptoms: how do adolescents compare with adults?
OBJECTIVE
To compare depressive symptoms between U.S. adolescents and adults.


METHODS
Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 18,488), the Americans' Changing Lives Project (N = 3,164), and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I (N = 3,023). Depressive symptoms were assessed with items from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale, operationalized as present or persistent. Multivariate regression analyses were used to assess correlates of depressive symptoms within each sample.


RESULTS
Older adolescents reported the highest symptom presence, but symptom persistence was similar between adolescents and young to middle aged adults. The oldest adults reported the lowest symptom presence but the highest symptom persistence. For adolescents and for adults, low household income and ethnic minority status were the most consistent multivariate correlates of depressive symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
Older adolescents experience more depressive symptoms than adults and comparable symptom persistence, suggesting that these adolescents may be at the highest risk for depression. This risk may be especially pronounced among economically disadvantaged ethnic minority adolescents.
Wight
Richard G
RG
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California School of Public Health, Los Angeles, California 90095-1772, USA. rwight@ucla.edu
Sepúlveda
Joslan E
JE
Aneshensel
Carol S
CS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology