Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Antecedents and Consequences of Psychiatric Disorders in African-American Adolescents

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study included three waves of data, collected from approximately 890 African-American children and their families. Antecedents and consequences of psychiatric disorders among this population were examined. Children’s temperament, pubertal timing, and experience of stressful life events were tested as antecedents of psychiatric disorders. Several aspects of school functioning were then tested as consequences of psychiatric disorders. In addition, children with a single psychiatric disorder and those with comorbid disorders were statistically compared. Results showed that (1) children with at least one disorder, compared to those with no disorder, exhibited significantly more difficult temperament, experienced puberty earlier, and underwent greater numbers of stressful life events; (2) those with at least one disorder had significantly poorer school outcomes than those with no disorder; (3) children with comorbid disorders, compared with those who had only one disorder, displayed lower educational aspirations and poorer school commitment.

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.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahadi, S., & Diener, E. (1989). Multiple determinants and effect size. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 398–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Costello, E. J., & Erkanli, A. (1999). Comorbidity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40, 57–87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Costello, E. J., & Worthman, C. (1998). Puberty and depression: The roles of age, pubertal status, and pubertal timing. Psychological Medicine, 28, 51–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Angold, A., Erkanli, A., Farmer, E. M. Z., Fairbank, J. A., Burns, B. J., Keeler, G., et al. (2002). Psychiatric disorder, impairment, and service use in rural African-American and white youth. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59, 893–901.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Breslau, J., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Kendler, K. S., Su, M., Williams, D., & Kessler, R. C. (2005). Specifying race-ethnic differences in risk for psychiatric disorder in a USA national sample. Psychological Medicine, 35, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brody, G. H., Chen, Y., Murry, V. M., Ge, X., Simons, R. L., Gibbons, F. X., et al. (2006a). Perceived discrimination and the adjustment of African-American youths: A five-year longitudinal analysis with contextual moderation effects. Child Development, 77(5), 1170–1189.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brody, G. H., Murry, V. M., Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., McNair, L., Brown, A. C., et al. (2006b). The strong African-American Families Program: Prevention of youths’ high-risk behavior and a test of a model of change. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 1–11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brody, G. H., Murry, V. M., Kogan, S. M., Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., Molgaard, V., et al. (2006c). The strong African American Families Program: A cluster-randomized prevention trial of long-term effects and a mediational model. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 356–366.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brody, G. H., Ge, X., Conger, R., Gibbons, F. X., Murry, V. M., Gerrard, M., et al. (2001). The influence of neighborhood disadvantage, collective socialization, and parenting on African-American children’s affiliation with deviant peers. Child Development, 72, 1231–1246.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brody, G. H., Stoneman, Z., Flor, D., McCray, C., Hastings, L., & Conyers, O. (1994). Financial resources, parent psychological functioning, parent co-caregiving, and early adolescent competence in rural two-parent African American families. Child Development, 65, 590–605.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. (1978). Social origins of depression: A study of psychiatric disorder in women. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrnes, J. P., Miller, D. C., & Reynolds, M. (1999a). Learning to make good decisions: A self-regulation perspective. Child Development, 70, 1121–1140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrnes, J. P., Miller, D. C., & Schafer, W. D. (1999b). Gender differences in risk taking: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 367–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D. M., & Stoolmiller, M. (1999). Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: III. Prediction to young-adult adjustment. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 59–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., Henry, B., McGee, R. O., Moffitt, T. E., & Phil, A. S. (1995). Temperamental origins of child and adolescent behavior problems: From age three to fifteen. Child Development, 66, 55–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., Wright, B. R. E., Moffitt, T. E., & Silva, P. A. (1998). Early failure in the labor market: Childhood and adolescent predictors of unemployment in the transition to adulthood. American Sociological Review, 63, 424–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2000). Youth risk behavior surveillance – United States, 1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 49.

  • Cohen, P., Cohen, J., Kasen, S., Velez, C. N., Hartmark, C., Johnson, J., et al. (1993). An epidemiological study of disorders in late childhood and adolescence–I. Age- and gender-specific prevalence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 851–867.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, D. A., Martin, J. M., Powers, B., & Truglio, R. (1996). Modeling causal relationships between academic and social competence and depression: A multitrait-multimethod longitudinal study of children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 258–270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ezpeleta, L., Keeler, G., Erkanli, A., Costello, E. J., & Angold, A. (2001). Epidemiology of psychiatric disability in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42, 901–914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Lynskey, M. T., & Horwood, L. J. (1996). Origins of comorbidity between conduct and affective disorders. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 451–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fombonne, E., Wostear, G., Cooper, V., Harrington, R., & Rutter, M. (2001a). The Maudsley long-term follow-up of child and adolescent depression 1. Psychiatric outcomes in adulthood. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 210–217.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fombonne, E., Wostear, G., Cooper, V., Harrington, R., & Rutter, M. (2001b). The Maudsley long-term follow-up of child and adolescent depression 2. Suicidality, criminality and social dysfunction in adulthood. British Journal of Psychiatry, 179, 218–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ge, X., Brody, G. H., Conger, R. D., Simons, R. L., & Murry, V. M. (2002). Contextual amplification of the effects of pubertal transition on African-American children’s deviant peer affiliation and externalized behavioral problems. Developmental Psychology, 38, 42–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ge, X., Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H. Jr. (1996). Coming of age too early: Pubertal influences on girls’ vulnerability to psychological distress. Child Development, 67, 3386–3400.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ge, X., Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H. Jr. (2001). Pubertal transition, stressful life events, and emergence of gender differences in adolescent depressive symptoms. Developmental Psychology, 37, 404–417.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ge, X., Lorenz, F. O., Conger, R. D., Elder, G. H. Jr., & Simons, R. L. (1994). Trajectories of stressful life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 31, 406–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodyer, I. M. (2001). Life events: Their nature and effects. In I. M. Goodyer (Ed.), The depressed child and adolescent (2nd ed., pp. 204–232). Cambridge child and adolescent psychiatry. New York: Cambridge University Press.

  • Gottfredson, M., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graber, J. A., Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1997). Is psychopathology associated with the timing of pubertal development? Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1768–1776.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gutman, L. M., McLoyd, V. C., & Tokoyawa, T. (2005). Financial strain, neighborhood stress, parenting behaviors, and adolescent adjustment in urban African American families. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(4), 425–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedges, L., & Nowell, A. (1999). Changes in the black-white gap in achievement test scores. Sociology of Education, 72, 111–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. K., Crosnoe R., & Thaden, L. (2006). Gendered patterns in adolescents’ school attachment. Social Psychology Quarterly, 69, 284–295.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J., Weissman, M. M., & Klerman, G. L. (1992). Service utilization and social morbidity associated with depressive symptoms in the community. Journal of the American Medical Association, 267, 1478–1483.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, D. B., & Davies, M. (1986). Adult sequelae of adolescent depressive symptoms. Archives of General Psychiatry, 43, 255–262.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kashani, J. H., Ezpeleta, L., Dandoy, A. C., Doi, S., & Reid, J. C. (1991). Psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents: The contribution of the child’s temperament and the parents’ psychopathology and attitudes. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 569–573.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P. A., Foster, C. L., Saunders, W. B., Stang, P. E., & Walters, E. E. (1997). Social consequences of psychiatric disorders, II: Teenage parenthood. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 1405–1411.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Foster, C. L., Saunders, W. B., & Stang, P. E. (1995). Social consequences of psychiatric disorders, I: Educational attainment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 914–919.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., McGongle, K. A., Zhao, S., Nelson, C. B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., et al. (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 8–19.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., & Walters, E. E. (1998). Epidemiology of DSM-III-R major depression and minor depression among adolescents and young adults in the National Comorbidity Survey. Depression and Anxiety, 7, 3–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Walters, E. E., & Forthofer, M. S. (1998). The social consequences of psychiatric disorders, III: Probability of marital stability. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 1092–1096.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., Brody, G., & Murry, V. M. (2003). Factor structure of the early adolescent temperament questionnaire and measurement invariance across gender. Journal of Early Adolescence, 23, 268–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landrine, H., & Klonoff, E. A. (1996). The schedule of racist events: A measure of racial discrimination and a study of its negative physical and mental health consequences. Journal of Black Psychology, 22, 144–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., & Seeley, J. R. (1998). Treatment of adolescent depression: Frequency of services and impact on functioning in young adulthood. Depression and Anxiety, 7, 47–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., Klein, D. N., & Gotlib, I. H. (2003). Psychosocial functioning of young adult who have experienced and recovered from major depressive disorder during adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 353–363.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., Roisman, G. I., Long, J. D., Burt, K. B., Obradovic, J., Riley, J. R., et al. (2005). Developmental cascades: Linking academic achievement and externalizing and internalizing symptoms over 20 years. Developmental Psychology, 41, 733–746.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maziade, M., Caperaa, P., Laplante, B., Boudreault, M., Thivierge, J., Cote, R., et al. (1985). Value of difficult temperament among 7-year-olds in the general population for predicting psychiatric diagnosis at age 12. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 943–946.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLeod, J. D., & Kaiser, K. (2004). Childhood emotional and behavioral problems in educational attainment. American Sociological Review, 69, 636–658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLoyd, V. C. (1990). The impact of economic hardship on black families and children: Psychological distress, parenting, and socioemotional development. Child Development, 61, 311–346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLoyd, V. C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. American Psychologist, 53, 185–204.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLoyd, V. C., & Wilson, L. (1990). Maternal behavior, social-support, and economic conditions as predictors of distress in children. In V. C. McLoyd & C. A. Flanagan (Eds.), New directions for child development: No. 46, Economic stress: Effects on family life and child development (pp. 49–69). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merikangas, K. R., Swendsen, J. D., Preisig, M. A., & Chazan, R. Z. (1998). Psychopathology and temperament in parents and offspring: Results of a family study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 51, 63–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miech, R. A., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Wright, B. R. E., & Silva, P. A. (1999). Low socioeconomic status and mental disorders: A longitudinal study of selection and causation during young adulthood. The American Journal of Sociology, 104, 1096–1131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintz, J., Mintz, L. I., Arruda, M. J., & Hwang, S. S. (1992). Treatment of depression and the functional capacity to work. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 761–768.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murry, V. M., Brown, P. A., Brody, G. H., Cutrona, C. E., & Simons, R. L. (2001). Racial discrimination as a moderator of the links among stress, maternal psychological functioning, and family relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63(4), 915–926.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G., DeGarmo, D., & Knutson, M. (2000). Hyperactive and antisocial behaviors: Comorbid or two points in the same process? Development and Psychopathology, 12, 91–106.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, A. C., Crockett, L., Richards, M., & Boxer, A. (1988). A self-report measure of pubertal status: Reliability, validity, and initial norms. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 17, 117–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinton, D., Pickles, A., Maughan, B., & Rutter, M. (1993). Partners, peers, and pathways: Assortative pairing and continuities in conduct disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 763–783.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute. (1990). SAS/STAT user’s guide, Version 6 (4th ed., Vol. 2). Cary, NC: SAS Institute.

  • Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Lucas, C. P., Dulcan, M. K., & Schwab-Stone, M. E. (2000). NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (NIMH DISC-IV): Description, differences from previous versions, and reliability of some common diagnose. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 28–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Chen, Y.-F., Stewart, E. A., & Brody, G. H. (2003). Incidents of discrimination and risk for delinquency: A longitudinal test of strain theory with an African American sample. Justice Quarterly, 20, 827–854.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Murry, V. M., McLoyd, V., Lin, K.-H., Cutrona, C., & Conger, R. D. (2002). Discrimination, crime, ethnic identity, and parenting as correlates of depressive symptoms among African-American children: A Multi-level analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 371–393.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L. D. (2004). Risk taking in adolescence: What changes, and why? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 51–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Swearingen, E. M., & Cohen, L. H. (1985). Measurement of adolescents’ life events: The Junior High Life Experience Survey. American Journal of Community Psychology, 13, 69–85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tanner, J. M. (1978). Fetus into man. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wills, T. A., Cleary, S., Filer, M., Shiner, O., Mariani, J., & Spera, K. (2001a). Temperament related to early-onset substance use: Test of a developmental model. Prevention Science, 2(3), 145–163.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wills, T. A., Sandy, J. M., Yaeger, A., & Shinar, O. (2001b). Family risk factors and adolescent substance use: Moderation effects for temperament dimensions. Developmental Psychology, 37(3), 283–297.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Windle, M., & Lerner, R. M. (1986). Reassessing the dimensions of temperamental individuality across the life span: The Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey (DOTS-R). Journal of Adolescent Research, 1, 213–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodward, L. J., & Fergusson, D. M. (2001). Life course outcomes of young people with anxiety disorders in adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1086–1093.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research project was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health through funding for the Institute for Social and Behavioral Research (MH48165, MH62668) at Iowa State University. Additional funding for the research center and for this project was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station (Project #3320). Writing of this manuscript was supported by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at University of California, Davis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Child Development, California State University, Stanislaus One University Circle, Turlock, CA, 95382, USA

    Run Jin

  2. Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN, USA

    Xiaojia Ge

  3. Department of Child and Family Development, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Gene H. Brody

  4. Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Ronald L. Simons

  5. Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames, IW, USA

    Carolyn E. Cutrona & Frederick X. Gibbons

Authors
  1. Run Jin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiaojia Ge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gene H. Brody
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ronald L. Simons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Carolyn E. Cutrona
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Frederick X. Gibbons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Run Jin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jin, R., Ge, X., Brody, G.H. et al. Antecedents and Consequences of Psychiatric Disorders in African-American Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 37, 493–505 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9202-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9202-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation