Open AccessOlder and Wiser? Age Moderates the Association Between Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms in American Indians and Alaska Natives
Author(s) -
Chad Danyluck,
Irene V. Blair,
Spero M. Manson,
Mark L. Laudenslager,
Stacie L. Daugherty,
Luohua Jiang,
Elizabeth Brondolo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of aging and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1552-6887
pISSN - 0898-2643
DOI - 10.1177/08982643211013699
Subject(s) - stressor , depressive symptoms , association (psychology) , mental health , gerontology , psychology , life course approach , depression (economics) , demography , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , developmental psychology , cognition , sociology , economics , psychotherapist , macroeconomics
Objectives: To examine age differences in the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms among urban American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). Methods: A sample of 303 urban AI/AN (18-78 years old) reported on lifetime and past-week experiences of racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were regressed on racial discrimination, age, and their interaction, adjusting for demographic factors and other life stressors. Results: Lifetime and past-week discrimination were significantly associated with depressive symptoms, and these associations were stronger among younger than older adult AI/AN. Discussion: The results are consistent with prior reports in other populations, but this is the first such study to focus on AI/AN, and it highlights the importance of considering life course perspectives. Conclusions are limited by the cross-sectional nature of the data. Longitudinal and qualitative work is needed to understand why discrimination may have a stronger effect on mental health for younger than older AI/AN.