The objective of this inquiry is to explore the multiple ways in which socioeconomic status (SES) influences the mental health of adolescents. To attain this objective, we will analyzes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a 2-wave panel survey of a nationally representative sample of approximately 20,000 adolescents and their parents. There are several sources of data: adolescent interviews and self-administered questionnaires; parental interviews; school administrator self-administered questionnaires; and official statistics for Census tracts and blocks, counties, and states. Data pertain to several units of analysis: individual, family, and neighborhood. The project will use state-of-the-art methods of multilevel modeling to accurately describe how SES in two contexts-family and neighborhood- jointly influences adolescent emotional well-being. The primary hypothesis is that symptoms of depression are inversely associated with neighborhood SES over and above the contribution of family SES and that these multi-level effects are synergistic rather than merely additive. Preliminary data analysis supports this hypothesis. The research will also explore mechanisms at both macro (e.g., collective efficacy) and micro (e.g., parenting behaviors) levels to explain how SES influences, emotional distress among adolescents. It also examines the extent to which these processes are universal or are specific to particular ethnic and/or gender subgroups. Finally, the research explores the extent to which models developed behaviors indicative of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. This extension across a spectrum of disorders) from the etiologic impact of SES for a specific disorder. These scientific results will be translated into policy recommendations aimed at ameliorating the adverse mental health effects of growing up within socioeconomically disadvantaged conditions.
| Botticello, Amanda L (2009) School contextual influences on the risk for adolescent alcohol misuse. Am J Community Psychol 43:85-97 |
| Wight, Richard G; Aneshensel, Carol S; Botticello, Amanda L et al. (2005) A multilevel analysis of ethnic variation in depressive symptoms among adolescents in the United States. Soc Sci Med 60:2073-84 |
| Wight, Richard G; Sepulveda, Joslan E; Aneshensel, Carol S (2004) Depressive symptoms: how do adolescents compare with adults? J Adolesc Health 34:314-23 |
