Race/ethnicity and mental health in the first decade of the 21st century.
Recent empirical studies on mental health generally report racial/ ethnic differences in depression rates but typically do not control for potential confounding by sample contextual variations in historical epoch, geographical location, and social demography. An empirical study of race/ethnicity differences in psychological distress is reported as an attempt to control these contexts by using a sample that is homogeneous in age, historical epoch, geography, and social demography (954 youth ages 18-19 living in a single, large urban community). No mean differences in psychological distress were observed among four racial/ethnic groups: Asians, African Americans, Latinos, and non-Hispanic Whites. A second analysis compared 17 different racial/ethnic groups defined in terms of family national origin. No differences in psychological distress were found among these groups. The findings are consistent with the view that race/ethnicity itself is not related to disparities in mental health.
York College and The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11451, USA. brosenthal@york.cuny.edu
Beth Spenciner
BS
Rosenthal
W Cody
WC
Wilson
D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D004522:Educational Status; D004644:Emotions; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D009519:New York City; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult