Discrimination, Mastery, and Depressive Symptoms Among African American Men.
OBJECTIVE
This study examines the influence of discrimination and mastery on depressive symptoms for African American men at young (18-34), middle (35-54), and late (55+) adulthood.


METHODS
Analyses are based on responses from 1,271 African American men from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL).


RESULTS
Discrimination was significantly related to depressive symptoms for men ages 35 to 54 and mastery was found to be protective against depressive symptoms for all men. Compared to African American men in the young and late adult groups, discrimination remained a statistically significant predictor of depressive symptoms for men in the middle group once mastery was included.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings demonstrate the distinct differences in the influence of discrimination on depressive symptoms among adult African American males and the need for future research that explores the correlates of mental health across age groups. Implications for social work research and practice with African American men are discussed.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Daphne C
DC
Watkins
University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Darrell L
DL
Hudson
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Cleopatra Howard
CH
Caldwell
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Kristine
K
Siefert
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
James S
JS
Jackson
African American men; depressive symptoms; discrimination; mastery