Effects of Social Context, Culture and Minority Status on Depression and Anxiety

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议的项目调查种族/种族差异背后的社会机制，在拉丁美洲年轻人（17 - 25岁）中，抑郁症（MDD）和抑郁和焦虑症状（DAS）的患病率。我们建议扩展开创性的Boricua研究，以研究少数民族地位和文化适应的经历是否与全岛与波多黎各大陆MDD/DAS患病率的差异存在因果关系。由于波多黎各人在纽约州南布朗克斯是少数民族，但在波多黎各岛上占多数，这种移民研究设计使我们能够使用跨站点的变化作为一种方式来检查少数民族地位和文化适应对心理健康结果的因果机制。我们计划的研究还包括与MDD和DAS相关的广泛的环境，社会，家庭和个人水平的措施，并使用先进的统计技术来识别这些负面结果的风险和保护因素。我们 建议对父母和参加Boricua研究的17 - 25岁的年轻人进行后续采访。利用这些数据，我们将进行定量分析：1）确定少数民族地位与多数民族地位相比的因果影响，2）确定 少数民族地位对随后的MDD和DAS的影响背后的机制，以及3）测试条件，缓和少数民族地位与环境和社会背景之间的因果关系。我们将用深入的定性访谈和民族志邻里观察来补充定量分析，以加深我们对定量研究结果的理解，并确定少数民族身份体验和文化适应压力， MDD和DAS的变化以及功能障碍。在我们的研究结束时，我们打算创建一个公共使用的数据库的四波Boricua研究。这将是第一个纵向研究，以评估少数民族地位和文化适应的早期经验对拉丁美洲青年成人精神疾病的因果影响。我们的最终目标是提供信息，以减少少数民族社区的精神疾病。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project investigates the social mechanisms behind ethnic/racial differences in the prevalence of major depression disorder (MDD) and depressive and anxiety symptoms (DAS) in Latino young adults (ages 17-25). We propose to extend the path-breaking Boricua study to examine if experiences of minority status and acculturation are causally linked to differences in prevalence of MDD/DAS across Island versus mainland Puerto Ricans. Since Puerto Ricans are a minority in the South Bronx in NY but a majority on the Island of Puerto Rico, this migrant study design enables us to use variation across sites as a way to examine the causal mechanism of minority status and acculturation on mental health outcomes. Our planned study also includes a wide range of environmental, social, family, and individual level measures associated with MDD and DAS, and uses advanced statistical techniques to identify the risks and protective factors for these negative outcomes. We propose to conduct follow-up interviews with parents and with young adults now ages 17-25 who participated in the Boricua study. Using these data, we will conduct quantitative analysis to: 1) determine the causal impact of minority status as contrasted to majority status, 2) identify the mechanisms behind the effect of minority status on subsequent MDD and DAS, and 3) test conditions that moderate the causal link between minority status and environmental and social context. We will supplement the quantitative analysis with in- depth qualitative interviews and ethnographic neighborhood observation to deepen our understanding of the quantitative findings and identify minority status experiences and acculturation stresses potentially related to changes in MDD and DAS, as well as functional impairment. At the close of our study we intend to create a public-use database of the four waves of Boricua study. This would be the first longitudinal study to assess the causal effects of early experiences of minority status and acculturation on Latino young adult mental illness. Our ultimate goal is to generate information to reduce mental illness in minority communities.