Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Linking Community, Parenting, and Depressive Symptom Trajectories: Testing Resilience Models of Adolescent Agency Based on Race/Ethnicity and Gender

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Family stress models illustrate how communities affect youth outcomes through effects on parents and studies consistently show the enduring effects of early community context. The present study takes a different approach identifying human agency during adolescence as a potentially significant promotive factor mediating the relationship between community, parenting, and mental health. While agency is an important part of resilience, its longitudinal effects are unknown, particularly based on gender and race/ethnicity. The purpose of this research was to model the long-term effects of community structural adversity and social resources as predictors of adolescent depressive symptom trajectories via indirect effects of parental happiness, parent–child relationships, and human agency. Latent growth analyses were conducted with 1,796 participants (53 % female; 56 % White) across four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health spanning adolescence (Wave 1) through adulthood (Wave 4). The results identified agency as an important promotive factor during adolescence with long-term mental health benefits, but only for White and male participants. For these individuals, community social resources and the quality of the parent–child relationship were related to higher levels of agency and more positive mental health trajectories. Although community social resources similarly benefitted parenting and agency among females and non-White participants, there were no significant links between agency and depressive symptoms for these youth. The results suggest that agency remains an important, but poorly understood concept and additional work is necessary to continue unpacking its meaning for diverse groups of youth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler, N., & Rehkopf, D. (2008). U.S. disparities in health: Descriptions, causes, and mechanisms. Annual Review of Public Health, 29, 235–252. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090852.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 37(2), 122–147. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.37.2.122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boo, K. (2003, November 1). After welfare. The New Yorker. http://newyorker.com/printable/?archive/030818fr_archive0.

  • Braveman, P., Cubbin, C., Egerter, S., Williams, D., & Pamuk, E. (2010). Socioeconomic disparities in health in the United States: What the patterns tell us. American Journal of Public Health, 100(S1), S186–S196. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.166082.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 723–742. doi:10.1037//0012-1649.22.6.723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G., & Aber, L. (1997). Neighborhood poverty: Context and consequences for children (Vol. 1). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browne, M., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equations models (pp. 136–162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantor, N. (1990). From thought to behavior: “Having” and “doing” in the study of personality and cognition. American Psychologist, 45, 735–750.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caughy, M., O’Campo, P., & Muntaner, C. (2003). When being alone might be better: Neighborhood poverty, social capital, and child mental health. Social Science and Medicine, 57(2), 227–237. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00342-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, C., Cheung, S., Chio, J., & Chan, M. (2013). Cultural meaning of perceived control: A meta-analysis of locus of control and psychological symptoms across 18 cultural regions. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 152–188. doi:10.1037/a0028596.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, G., & Rensvold, R. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 9(2), 233–255. doi:10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D. (2010). Resilience under conditions of extreme stress: A multilevel perspective. World Psychiatry, 9(3), 145–154. doi:10.1002/cd.242.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, D., & Kearns, R. (2001). Under curfew and under siege? Legal geographies of young people. Geoforum, 32(3), 389–403. doi:10.1016/S0016-7185(00)00033.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R., Conger, K., Elder, G., Lorenz, F., Simons, R., & Whitbeck, L. (1992). A family process model of economic hardship and adjustment of early adolescent boys. Child Development, 63, 526–541. doi:10.2307/1131344.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R., Conger, K., & Martin, M. (2010). Socioeconomic status, family processes, and individual development. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 685–704. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00725.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Danish, S. (1997). Going for the goal: A life skills program for adolescents. In G. Albee & T. Gullotta (Eds.), Issues in children’s and families lives: Primary prevention works (pp. 291–312). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diez Roux, A. (2001). Investigating neighborhood and area effects on health. American Journal of Public Health, 91(11), 1783–1789. doi:10.2105/AJPH.91.11.1783.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, G., Ziol-Guest, K., & Kalil, A. (2010). Early-childhood poverty and adult attainment, behavior, and health. Child Development, 81(1), 306–325. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01396.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edin, K., & Kissane, R. (2010). Poverty and the American family: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 460–479. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00713.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elder, G. (1994). Time, human agency, and social change: Perspectives on the life course. Social Psychology Quarterly, 57(1), 4–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elder, G. (1998). The life course as developmental theory. Child Development, 69(1), 1–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elder, G., & Hitlin, S. (2007). Agency: An empirical model of an abstract concept. Advances in Life Course Research, 11, 33–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frost, L., & Hoggett, P. (2008). Human agency and social suffering. Critical Social Policy, 28(4), 438–460. doi:10.1177/0261018308095279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ge, X., Lorenz, F., Conger, R., Elder, G., & Simons, R. (1994). Trajectories of stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 30(4), 467–483. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.30.4.467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon-Larsen, P., Nelson, M., Page, P., & Popkin, B. (2006). Inequality in the built environment underlies key health disparities in physical activity and obesity. Pediatrics, 117(2), 417–424.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greene, R. (2002). Resiliency: An integrated approach to practice, policy, and research. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimm, K., Ram, N., & Hamagami, F. (2011). Nonlinear growth curves in developmental research. Child Development, 82(5), 1357–1371. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01630.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, D., & Nazroo, J. (2000). The ethnic density effect: Results from a national community survey of England and Wales. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 46(1), 34e46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55. doi:10.1080/10705519909540118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordon, J. (2013). Relational resilience in girls. In S. Goldstein & R. B. Brooks (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/9781-4614-3661-4-5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R., & Angus, R. (2011). Adolescents’ development of skills for agency in youth programs: Learning to think strategically. Child Development, 82(1), 277–294. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01555.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leeder, S. (2007). The scope, mission and method of contemporary public health. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 31(6), 505–508. doi:10.1111/j.1753-6405.2007.00132.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). The neighborhoods they live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 309–337. doi:10.1037//0033-2909.126.2.309.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Little, T. D., Snyder, C. R., & Wehmeyer, M. (2006). The agentic self: On the nature and origins of personal agency across the life span. In D. K. Mroczek & T. D. Little (Eds.), Handbook of personality development (pp. 61–79). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luthar, S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543–562.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D., Lockwood, C., & Williams, J. (2004). Confident limits for the indirect effect: Distribution of the product and resampling methods. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 39(1), 99–128. doi:10.1207/s15327906mbr3901_4.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mair, C., Diez Roux, A., & Galea, S. (2008). Are neighbourhood characteristics associated with depressive symptoms? A review of evidence. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62, 940–946.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H., Hau, K., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indexes and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(3), 320–341. doi:10.1207/s15328007sem1103_2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. (2011). Resilience in children threatened by extreme adversity: Frameworks for research, practice, and translational synergy. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 493–506. doi:10.1017/S0954579411000198.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A., Best, K., & Garmezy, N. (1990). Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology, 2(4), 425–444. doi:10.1017/S0954579400005812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A., Cutuli, J., Herbers, J., & Reed, M. (2009). Resilience in development. In C. Snyder & S. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 117–131). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A., & Powell, J. (2003). A resilience framework for research, policy, and practice. In S. Luthar (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 1–25). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McLeod, J., & Shanahan, M. (1996). Trajectories of poverty and children’s mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 37(3), 207–220. doi:10.2307/2137292.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Merten, M., Williams, A., & Shriver, L. (2009). Breakfast consumption in adolescence and young adulthood: Parental presence, community context, and obesity. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(8), 1384–1391. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.008.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moen, P. (1997). Women’s roles and resilience: Trajectories of advantage or turning points? In L. Gotlib & B. Wheaton (Eds.), Stress and adversity over the life course: Trajectories and turning points (pp. 133–137). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2011). Mplus User’s Guide (6th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

  • Olsson, C., Bond, L., Burns, J., Vella-Brodrick, D., & Sawyer, S. (2003). Adolescent resilience: A concept analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 1–11. doi:10.1016/S0140-1971(02)00118-5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paradis, A., Giaconia, G., Reinherz, H., Beardslee, W., Ward, K., & Fitzmaurice, G. (2011). Adolescent family factors promoting healthy adult functioning: A longitudinal community study. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 16(1), 30–37. doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588.2010.00577.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depressive symptoms scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. (1991). The use of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale in adolescents and young adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20(2), 149–166.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raudino, A., Fergusson, D., & Horwood, J. (2013). The quality of parent/child relationships in adolescence is associated with poor adult psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Adolescence, 36(2), 331–340. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.12.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reingle, J. M., Jennings, W. G., & Maldonado-Molina, M. (2011). The mediated effect of contextual risk factors on trajectories of violence: Results from a nationally representative, longitudinal sample of Hispanic adolescents. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 36, 327–343. doi:10.1007/s12103-011-9138-y.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Repetti, R., Taylor, S., & Seeman, T. (2002). Risky families: Family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring. Psychological Bulletin, 128(2), 330–366. doi:10.1037//0033-2909.128.2.230.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfield, S., & Mouzen, D. (2013). Gender and mental health. In C. S. Aneshensel, et al. (Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health (2nd ed., pp. 277–296). New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rushton, J. L., Forcier, M., & Schectman, R. M. (2002). Epidemiology of depressive symptoms in the Adolescent Health Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(2), 199–205.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C., Singer, B., Love, G., & Essex, M. (1998). Resilience in adulthood and later life: Defining features and dynamic processes. In J. Lomranz (Ed.), Handbook of aging and mental health: An integrative approach (pp. 69–96). New York, NY: Plenum Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918–924.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schilling, T. (2008). An examination of resilience processes in context: The case of Tasha. The Urban Review, 40(3), 296–316. doi:10.1007/s11256-007-0080-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S., Côté, J., & Arnett, J. (2005). Identity and agency in emerging adulthood: Two developmental routes in the individualization process. Youth & Society, 37(2), 201–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seccombe, K. (2002). “Beating the odds” versus “changing the odds”: Poverty, resilience, and family policy. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 384–394. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00384.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, C., & McKay, H. (2002). Delinquency rates and community characteristics. In S. Cote (Ed.), Criminological theories: Bridging the past to the future. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, M. (2005). Girls, consumption space and the contradictions of hanging out in the city. Social and Cultural Geography, 6(4), 587–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ungar, M. (2008). Resilience across cultures. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 218–235. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcl343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ungar, M. (2011). Community resilience for youth and families: Facilitative physical and social capital in contexts of adversity. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(9), 1742–1748. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.04.027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Petegem, S., Vansteenkiste, M., & Beyers, W. (2013). The jingle-jangle fallacy in adolescent autonomy in the family: In search of an underlying structure. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42, 994–1014. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9847-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Viner, R., Ozer, E., Denny, S., Marmot, M., Resnick, M., Fatusi, A., et al. (2012). Adolescence and the social determinants of health. Lancet, 379, 1641–1652. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60149-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Werner, E., & Johnson, J. (1999). Can we apply resilience? In M. Glantz & J. Johnson (Eds.), Resilience and development: Positive life adaptations. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheaton, B., & Clarke, P. (2003). Space meets time: Integrating temporal and contextual influences on mental health in early adulthood. American Sociological Review, 68(5), 680–706. doi:10.2307/1519758.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wickrama, K. A. S., & Bryant, C. (2003). Community context of social resources and adolescent mental health. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 850–866. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00850.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wickrama, K. A. S., Conger, R., Lorenz, F., & Jung, T. (2008). Family antecedents and consequences of trajectories of depressive symptoms from adolescence to young adulthood: A life course investigation. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 49, 468–483. doi:10.1177/002214650804900407.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wickrama, K. A. S., Merten, M., & Elder, G. (2005). Community influence on precocious transitions to adulthood: Racial differences and mental health consequences. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(6), 639–653. doi:10.1002/jcop.20076.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wickrama, K. A. S., & Noh, S. (2010). The long arm of the community: The influence of childhood community contexts across the early life course. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 894–910. doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9411-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wickrama, K. A. S., Simons, L., & Baltimore, D. (2012). The influence of ethnicity and adverse life experiences during adolescence on young adult socioeconomic attainment: The moderating role of education. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(11), 1472–1487.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, A., & Merten, M. (in press). Characteristics of early community adversity and social resources and adolescent long-term mental health. Journal of Community Psychology.

  • Wong, C., Eccles, J., & Sameroff, A. (2003). The influence of ethnic discrimination and ethnic identification on African American adolescents’ school and socioemotional adjustment. Journal of Personality, 71(6), 1197–1232. doi:10.1111/1467-6494.7106012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research uses data from Add Health, a program project directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Information on how to obtain the Add Health data files is available on the Add Health website (http://www.cpc.unc.edu/addhealth). No direct support was received from grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Authors’ contributions

AW conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, measurement construction, performed the statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript; MM participated in the design and interpretation of the data, and helped draft the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Family Studies, University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Dr. #5035, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA

    Amanda L. Williams

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Science, Oklahoma State University, 1111 Main Hall, 700 N. Greenwood Ave., Tulsa, OK, 74106, USA

    Michael J. Merten

Authors
  1. Amanda L. Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael J. Merten
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amanda L. Williams.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Williams, A.L., Merten, M.J. Linking Community, Parenting, and Depressive Symptom Trajectories: Testing Resilience Models of Adolescent Agency Based on Race/Ethnicity and Gender. J Youth Adolescence 43, 1563–1575 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0141-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0141-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation