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Author Spotlight: Understanding Adolescent Social Adversity Effects on Neurodevelopment in Mice
Published on: March 15, 2024
Who Does Cohesion Benefit? Race, Gender, and Peer Networks Associated with Adolescent Depressive Symptoms
Molly Copeland1, Christina Kamis2
1Michigan State University, 433A Berkey Hall, 509 E. Circle Dr, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA. mcope@msu.edu.
Abstract:
Adolescence is a developmental period when peer network structure is associated with mental health. However, how networks relate to distress for youth at different intersecting racial/ethnic and gender identities is unclear. Using National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health survey data, cross-sectional models examine peer network cohesion predicting adolescent depressive levels for racial/ethnic and gender groups. The analytic sample is N = 13,055, average age 15.3 years, 50.2% female, 68.8 % White, 17.2% Black, 9.7% Hispanic, and 4.2% Asian. The results indicate that average cohesion, depressive levels, and cohesion associated with depressive levels differ by race/ethnicity and gender, with the greatest benefits for White and Black girls. This work clarifies patterns of adolescent networks and mental health by race/ethnicity and gender.
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