Document Detail


The intersection of school racial composition and student race/ethnicity on adolescent depressive and somatic symptoms.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21531493     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Schools are one of the strongest socializing forces in the U.S. and wield considerable influence over individuals' social and economic trajectories. Our study investigates how school-level racial composition, measured by the percentage non-Hispanic white students in a school, affects depressive and somatic symptoms among a representative sample of U.S. adolescents, and whether the association differs by race/ethnicity. We analyzed Wave I data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, resulting in a sample size of 18,419 students attending 132 junior and senior high schools in 1994/5. After controlling for individual and school characteristics, our multilevel analyses indicated that with increasing percentages of white students at their school, black students experienced more depressive symptoms and a higher risk of reporting high levels of somatic symptoms. After including students' perceptions of discrimination and school attachment, the interaction between black student race and school-level racial composition was no longer significant for either outcome. Our findings suggest that attending predominantly-minority schools may buffer black students from discrimination and increase their school attachment, which may reduce their risk of experiencing depressive and somatic symptoms.
Authors:
Katrina M Walsemann; Bethany A Bell; Debeshi Maitra
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Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-4-13
Journal Detail:
Title:  Social science & medicine (1982)     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1873-5347     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-5-2     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8303205     Medline TA:  Soc Sci Med     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Copyright Information:
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
Department of Health Promotion, Education and Behavior, University of South Carolina, 800 Sumter Street, Room 314, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
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