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Perceptions of Racism and Depressive Symptoms in African American Adolescents: The Role of Perceived Academic and Social Control

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Abstract

Experiences with racism are a common occurrence for African American youth and may result in negative self perceptions relevant for the experience of depressive symptoms. This study examined the longitudinal association between perceptions of racism and depressive symptoms, and whether perceived academic or social control mediated this association, in a community epidemiologically-defined sample of urban African American adolescents (N = 500; 46.4% female). Structural equation modeling revealed that experiences with racism were associated with low perceived academic control, which in turn was associated with increased depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that experiences with racism can have long lasting effects for African American youth’s depressive symptoms, and highlight the detrimental effects of experiences with racism for perceptions of control in the academic domain. Implications for intervention are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH057005: PI Ialongo; MH078995: PI Lambert) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA11796: PI Ialongo). The authors thank the youth, parents, and teachers who participated in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    Sharon F. Lambert

  2. Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

    Keith C. Herman

  3. Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Mia Smith Bynum

  4. Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Nicholas S. Ialongo

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  1. Sharon F. Lambert
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  2. Keith C. Herman
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  3. Mia Smith Bynum
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  4. Nicholas S. Ialongo
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Correspondence to Sharon F. Lambert.

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Lambert, S.F., Herman, K.C., Bynum, M.S. et al. Perceptions of Racism and Depressive Symptoms in African American Adolescents: The Role of Perceived Academic and Social Control. J Youth Adolescence 38, 519–531 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9393-0

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