Poster #51 - A longitudinal examination of peer victimization on depressive symptoms among Asian American school-aged youth

• In Event: 2-055 - Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Asian Americans (AA) are the fastest growing ethnic minority group in the U.S. (Hoeffel, Rastogi, Kim & Shahid, 2012). Research has demonstrated that AA youth experience higher rates of depression than their peers (Zhou, Peverly, Xin, Huang, & Wang, 2003). AA youth, moreover, are at greater risk for peer victimization compared to White students (Koo, Peguero, & Shekarkhar, 2012), with AA youth endorsing high rates of verbal harassment name-calling due to their race or ethnicity (Sawyer, Bradshaw, & O’Brennan, 2008). Though initial examination points to the role of peer victimization as a predictor of depression among AA youth, research has been limited in number, with only one study examining this relationship among Korean American older adolescents (Shin, D’Antonio, Son, Kim, & Park, 2011). Further, despite the differences in both peer victimization (Koo, Peguero, & Shekarkhar, 2012) and depression (Song et al., 2011) rates between AA male and female adolescents, to our knowledge, no research has examined the role of gender as a moderator of this relationship.

The aim of the current study was to examine the role of peer victimization in changes in AA’s depressive symptoms during early adolescence, a crucial period for the development of depression among youth. Further, a secondary aim of the current study was to examine the role of gender as a moderator in the relationship between peer victimization and depressive symptoms among AA early adolescents. This study builds on the limited research examining the role of peer victimization on depression, and extends previous research by examining this relationship across gender in a previously understudied population of early adolescent, AA youth.

Data for this study come from the Coordinated Community Student Survey (C2S2), a collaborative effort that began in 2004 and collected data over five years from primary and secondary students in a Midwest area comprised of over 100 urban, suburban, and rural schools (Barnes, Almerigi, Hsu, 2009). The current study used the AA subsample of 5th – 9h grade students (n = 232; 51%female; M age = 12.96, SD = 1.40) from two time points. Time 2 (T2) data was collected one year after Time 1 (T1). Students completed measures on their depressive symptoms (both time points), and peer victimization at T1.

Results of the path analysis in Mplus indicated that male adolescents had lower levels of depressive symptoms than females, b = -3.03, SE = 1.22, p = .013. Higher levels of peer victimization (T1) were associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms over time, b = 4.83, SE = 1.74, p = .006. Using a multigroup modeling approach and chi-square difference tests, we found significant moderation by gender, ΔΧ2 (1.052) = 6.82, p = .009. We found that the effect of peer victimization was stronger for females, b = 8.27, SE = 2.31, p < .001, than males, b = -.12, SE = 1.81, p = .948. Understanding risk factors for depression among AA youth will advance the development of culturally specific intervention strategies targeting the improvement of mental health outcomes among this population.

Authors

• Prerna G Arora, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Lorey A Wheeler, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sycarah Fisher, University of Kentucky
  Non-Presenting Author