Disadvantage Begets Disadvantage? Exploring Mental Health Pathways for Girls of color
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine whether girls of color had more or less social support than their peers and whether that affected their likelihood of experiencing the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Approach
The study utilized data from The National Comorbidity Survey - Adolescent Supplement (n = 10,123), a nationally representative sample of US adolescents. Girls of color made up roughly 10% of the sample (n = 1,016). Structural equation modern were used to analyze the relationship between family support and psychological distress for all US adolescents and then analyzed for girls of color, boys of color, Latina/o, and white girls and boys to compare across groups. Because of the inextricable relationship between socioeconomic status and race, three way interactions between class, race, and gender were used to examine class differences between and among groups.
Findings
Path analysis revealed 1) Among adolescents with both low and high socioeconomic status, girls of color had significantly less family support than their peers. 2) Surprisingly, despite the fact that girls of color had significantly less family support than their peers, they were not more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Practice & policy
Girls of color, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, are at a marked disadvantage regarding their perceptions of family support, a known buffer of anxiety and depression. Yet, despite this disadvantage girls of color were no more likely to experience a mood symptoms of anxiety and depression than their peers. These findings suggest 1) family support may have less of a protective effect on the mental health of girls of color than their peers. 2) girls of color may be using other resources, besides family support, to protect their mental health. 3) as mental health patients, girls of color require unique interventions.