Citation
Dennis, Alexis C. (2021). Those Left Behind: Socioeconomic Predictors and Social Factors that Influence Psychological Distress among Working-Aged African Americans in a Post-Industrial City.
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 18(1), 119-151. PMCID: PMC8550544
Abstract
While the socioeconomic status (SES)–psychological distress gradient is well-documented in the social science literature, less attention has been devoted to how this relationship varies within sociodemographic subgroups. I contribute to this small but growing literature by first examining the relationship between multiple dimensions of SES and two measures of psychological distress (depression and anxiety) among working-aged African Americans. I then test whether three social mediators explain the SES–psychological distress relationship, and whether gender modifies these associations and/or the social mediators that shape them. To address these aims, I analyze two waves of population-representative data from the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (N=685). Data were collected between 2008 and 2010 in the wake of the Great Recession. I utilize structural equation modeling with latent variables to assess these relationships, and test indirect and conditional effects to detect the presence of mediation and/or moderation, respectively. Findings revealed associations between higher total household income and lower levels of depression/anxiety, as well as unemployment and increased depression/anxiety among working age African Americans. Furthermore, higher educational attainment was associated with reduced anxiety, but not depression, in this population. Gender moderated these findings such that unemployment was associated with higher levels of depression/anxiety among women but not men. I also found that trauma mediated the relationship between unemployment and depression/anxiety as well as educational attainment and anxiety. Gender, however, moderated the association between unemployment and depression/anxiety via traumatic events such that the relationship was stronger among women than men. Collectively, these findings contribute to our limited understanding of African Americans’ mental health and underscore the importance of how both socioeconomic forces and life course experiences with traumatic events contribute to poor mental health among this population.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1742058X21000011Reference Type
Journal Article
Year Published
2021
Journal Title
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race
Author(s)
Dennis, Alexis C.
Article Type
Regular
PMCID
PMC8550544
Data Set/Study
Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (DNHS)
Continent/Country
United States of America
State
Michigan
Race/Ethnicity
African-American
ORCiD
Dennis - 0000-0001-6366-9850