October 27, 2023
Amma Agyemang-Duah, Gillings School Communication Fellow
Research shows that people who are exposed to more disadvantage early in life are more likely to report higher levels of depressive symptoms in adulthood. Black adults are particularly at risk for severe depressive symptoms because they are more likely to experience socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood than other races or ethnicities in the United States.
Research shows that increased education and social support in adulthood reduces the risk of developing high depressive symptoms in people who were disadvantaged early in life. But researchers at the UNC Gillings School of Public Health say this may not be the case for Black women.
A recent study led by epidemiologists at the Gillings School found that black women in Detroit, Michigan, who experienced higher levels of disadvantage early in life (also known as “high early life disadvantage”) , were found to have received higher levels of educational or social support. They had the highest risk of depression. These disadvantages go beyond economics and can include food insecurity, neighborhood safety, parental education, and even access to a quiet room to sleep.
Among the black women studied, those with significant childhood disadvantages who had at least some college education or received high levels of social support were more likely to 37% increased risk of depression.
Dr. Anissa Vines
The study also found that black women are more disadvantaged early in life. 34% higher risk of depression, regardless of education, financial or social supportwhich is consistent with the results of previous studies.
“Ultimately, research on structural racism is needed to reduce early life disadvantage and later health outcomes,” said Dr. Anissa I. Vines, associate professor of epidemiology. said.
Dr. Chantel Martin
This study Journal of Racial and Ethnic Disparitiesis led by Vines and Dr. Chantel Martin, assistant professor of epidemiology, and co-authored by Lee Gusteen, a former 2021 intrahealth-UNC summer fellow. Other co-authors include Dr. Ganesa Wegienka, a Gillings epidemiology graduate from the Henry Ford Health System. Lauren A. Wise, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Donna D. Baird is a senior epidemiology fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and adjunct professor of epidemiology at the Gillings School.
Researchers used data from the Study of Environmental Lifestyle and Uterine Fibroids (SELF), collected from 2010 to 2012 among black women between the ages of 23 and 34. Participants answered questions about their childhood home life. Were you able to sleep in a quiet room? , having enough food to eat, living in a safe neighborhood, and various other questions regarding socio-economic status. The answers to these questions allowed researchers to categorize participants into those who had experienced higher levels of disadvantage earlier in life and those who had experienced lower levels. At follow-up visits, participants’ depressive symptoms were assessed using a modified version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).
Participants also answered questions about their current level of education, social support, and income. The researchers predicted that these adult social factors would act as a moderating factor for participants’ depressive symptoms, but the results showed that this was not the case.
The findings draw attention to potential stressors for Black women with more education.
“For Black adults, higher education often exposes them to psychologically and physiologically taxing racial microaggressions,” the researchers wrote in their study. As a person of color, I experience multiple oppressions.”
Strong black woman and superwoman diagram Research shows that not only are Black women expected to endure struggles alone, but they are also made to feel like it is an innate ability that must be harnessed, which contributes to these stressors. That’s what it means. This makes it difficult for some Black women to seek help when they need it. Although Black women may have higher social support, endorsing a strong schema of Black women may prevent Black women from accessing this social support. Negative stereotypes of black women also make it difficult to speak out against injustice, worried about how they will be viewed by their peers and how it will affect their future. Some people can’t.
“Interventions that provide coping skills to Black women, especially those with higher education, may reduce their risk for depressive symptoms,” Vines said. “The results of this study will inform ongoing research seeking to understand the role of stress in the development and growth of uterine fibroids.”
Please contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Communications Team. sphcomm@unc.edu.
