Citation
Ward, Julia B.; Haan, Mary N.; Garcia, Maria E.; Lee, Anne; To, Tu My; & Aiello, Allison E. (2016). Intergenerational Education Mobility and Depressive Symptoms in a Population of Mexican Origin. Annals of Epidemiology, 26(7), 461-466. PMCID: PMC4995110Abstract
PURPOSE: Low educational attainment has been associated with depression among Latinos. However, few studies have collected intergenerational data to assess mental health effects of educational mobility across generations.METHODS: Using data from the Ninos Lifestyle and Diabetes Study, we assessed the influence of intergenerational education on depressive symptoms among 603 Mexican-origin individuals. Intergenerational educational mobility was classified: stable-low (low parent and/or low offspring education), upwardly mobile (low parent and/or high offspring education), stable-high (high parent and/or high offspring education), or downwardly mobile (high parent and/or low offspring education). High depressive symptoms were defined as scoring >/=10 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-10 (CESD-10). We examined prevalence ratios (PRs) for depressive symptoms with levels of educational mobility. We used general estimating equations with log-binomial models to account for within-family clustering, adjusting for age, gender, and offspring and parent nativity.
RESULTS: Compared with stable-low participants, the lowest prevalence of CESD-10 score >/=10 occurred in upwardly mobile (PR = 0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.39-0.78) and stable-high (PR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.44-0.87) participants. Downwardly mobile participants were also less likely to have a CESD-10 score >/=10 compared with stable-low participants (PR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.38-1.11), although the estimate was not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS: Sustained stress from low intergenerational education may adversely affect depression. Latinos with stable-low or downwardly mobile intergenerational educational attainment may need closer monitoring for depressive symptoms.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2016.05.005Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2016Journal Title
Annals of EpidemiologyAuthor(s)
Ward, Julia B.Haan, Mary N.
Garcia, Maria E.
Lee, Anne
To, Tu My
Aiello, Allison E.