title: Polyvictimization, income, and ethnic differences in trauma-related mental health during adolescence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study was to investigate ethnic differences in trauma-related mental health symptoms among adolescents, and test the mediating and moderating effects of polyvictimization (i.e., number of types of traumas/victimizations experienced by an individual) and household income, respectively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were drawn from the first wave of the National Survey of Adolescents-replication study (NSA-R), which took place in the US in 2005 and utilized random digit dialing to administer a telephone survey to adolescents ages 12-17. Participants included in the current analyses were 3312 adolescents (50.2 % female; mean age 14.67 years) from the original sample of 3614 who identified as non-Hispanic White (n = 2346, 70.8 %), non-Hispanic Black (n = 557, 16.8 %), or Hispanic (n = 409, 12.3 %). Structural equation modeling was utilized to test hypothesized models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic participants reported higher levels of polyvictimization and trauma-related mental health symptoms (symptoms of posttraumatic stress and depression) compared to non-Hispanic Whites, though the effect sizes were small (γ ≤ 0.07). Polyvictimization fully accounted for the differences in mental health symptoms between non-Hispanic Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites, and partially accounted for the differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. The relation between polyvictimization and trauma-related mental health symptoms was higher for low-income youth than for high-income youth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Disparities in trauma exposure largely accounted for racial/ethnic disparities in trauma-related mental health. Children from low-income family environments appear to be at greater risk of negative mental health outcomes following trauma exposure compared to adolescents from high-income families.
authors.affiliation: National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, 67 President St., 2-South, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA, andrewa@musc.edu.
authors.forename: Arthur R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jobe-Shields
authors.forename: Cristina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Isha W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Metzger
authors.forename: Michael A R
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Arellano
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saunders
authors.forename: Dean G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kilpatrick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011203:Poverty; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000208:ethnology; D014754:Violence / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data