Psychosocial predictors of first-onset depression in Chinese Americans

Background: This study examines the longitudinal and concurrent risk factor s associated with first-onset major depression in a community sample of 174 7 Chinese Americans in Los Angeles. Methods: The relative contributions of demographic, health, psychiatric, psychosocial, and cultural variables were assessed in a series of longitudinal and concurrent hierarchical multivari able analyses. Results: Results of the longitudinal analyses indicated that the risk for experiencing a first major depressive episode at 18-months fo llow-up was higher for those who initially rated their health as poor, repo rted higher depressive symptoms, and perceived higher levels of social supp ort. After controlling for prior health and psychiatric and psychosocial st atus at time 1, the results of the concurrent analyses indicated that the r isk for experiencing a first major depressive episode at time 2 was higher for those who rated their health as poor, had at least one other psychiatri c disorder, were bilingual, experienced high levels of life stress, and per ceived themselves as having low and/or decreased social supports. Conclusio ns: The results of this study confirm previous evidence that psychosocial v ulnerabilities, including higher acculturation, greater stress exposure and reduced social supports, are important predictors of risk for first-onset depressive episodes. Prevention and treatment implications are addressed, a nd future directions for research are offered.