Sociodemographic differences in depressed mood: results from a nationally representative sample of high school adolescents.
BACKGROUND
Research on adolescent mental health suggests that prevalence rates for depressed mood are not uniformly distributed across all populations. This study examined demographic difference in depressed mood among a nationally representative sample of high school adolescents.


METHODS
The 2003 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey was utilized to examine the association between depressed mood and demographic variables. To examine demographic associations, chi-square and follow-up logistic regression models were created for the sample of high school adolescents (N = 15,214).


RESULTS
Caucasians and African Americans were significantly less likely to report depressed mood when compared to Hispanics and Others. Women were also more likely than men to report depressed mood. No significant differences were observed among levels of urbanicity and age.


CONCLUSIONS
An understanding of the difference in the prevalence and correlates of depressed mood among adolescents of various ethnic/racial and gender groups deserves increased attention. Given the fact that challenges with depressed mood in adolescents can be substantial and relatively unrecognized, there is an increased need to identify these adolescents early and intervene with culturally appropriate interventions.
Paxton
Raheem J
RJ
Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, Biomedical Science Building, 1960 East West Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. rpaxton@crch.hawaii.edu
Valois
Robert F
RF
Watkins
Ken W
KW
Huebner
E Scott
ES
Drane
J Wanzer
JW
D000293:Adolescent; D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012572:School Health Services; D012923:Social Class; D013334:Students / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D018881:Suburban Health; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data