ADOLESCENT DEPRESSED MOOD IN A MULTIETHNIC SAMPLE

This research assessed whether there is an impact of race-ethnicity on depressed mood among adolescents, independent of socioeconomic status , whether gender differences in depressed mood are apparent within all race-ethnicity subgroups, and whether pubertal development influences depressed mood in a similar manner within gender and race-ethnicity s ubgroups. A three-stage, area probability sampling frame was utilized to select adolescents, ages 12-17 years, for an in-person interview. D epressed mood was assessed by the Children's Depression Inventory. Com pared to Whites, African Americans, or Asian Americans, Latinos report ed more symptoms of depressed mood, a finding that was independent of socioeconomic status. Advancing puberty was associated with depressed mood only among females, but the timing of pubertal changes, relative to ones peers, was related to depressed mood among both males and fema les, and among Latinos.