Abstract
In adolescence, Mexican-origin females are at higher risk for depressive symptoms, peer and school stressors are associated with depressive symptoms, and parental support continues to show a protective nature. However, it is unclear how peer and school stressors are associated with depressive symptoms across time, whether parental support moderates the link between stressors and depressive symptoms, and whether differences in patterns of associations differ for early-middle and middle-late Mexican-origin adolescents. This study contributes to existing knowledge by examining the longitudinal and reciprocal associations among peer and school stressors, depressive symptoms, and parental support as a moderator across four years (three time points) with a cohort of Mexican-origin early adolescent (n = 170, Mage = 12.27 at baseline) and middle adolescent (n = 168, Mage = 15.21 at baseline) females. The cross-lagged model showed that for the early adolescent cohort prior peer stressors were associated with later depressive symptoms in mid-adolescence whereas for the middle-adolescent cohort earlier depressive symptoms were associated with subsequent peer stressors in late adolescence. Parental support moderated the link between peer stressors and depressive symptoms for mid-adolescents and the link between depressive symptoms and school stressors for late adolescents. Findings suggest that associations among peer and school stressors, depressive symptoms, and parental support may be more prevalent during middle-late adolescence.
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Mental Health (R36MH077425) and a research grant from the Graduate and Professional Student Association at Arizona State University awarded to Mayra Y. Bámaca-Colbert. This project was also supported in part by the Prevention and Methodology Training Program (T32 DA017629; PI: L. M. Collins) with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Mental Health, or the National Institutes of Health.
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GM conceived of the study, conducted statistical analysis, interpreted findings, and drafted and revised the manuscript; MYB conceived of the study, interpreted the findings, helped draft and revise the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
Funding
This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Mental Health (R36MH077425) and a research grant from the Graduate and Professional Student Association at Arizona State University and in part by the Prevention and Methodology Training Program (T32 DA017629; PI: L. M. Collins) with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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Martinez, G., Bámaca-Colbert, M.Y. A Reciprocal and Longitudinal Investigation of Peer and School Stressors and Depressive Symptoms Among Mexican-Origin Adolescent Females. J Youth Adolescence 48, 2125–2140 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01091-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01091-2