261517 Association between Residential Mobility and Depressive Symptoms among Latino Young Adults: The Role of Current Mother's Support

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Graciela Jaschek, MPH , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD
Olivia Carter-Pokras, PhD , Deaprtment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD
Background: The link between residential mobility, stress and depression is of particular importance because there is a correspondence between early onset depression and the increased risk of recurrence in adulthood. The study examined the cross-sectional association between residential mobility (moves out of state in previous 7 years) and depressive symptoms (9-item CES-D scale) among Latino young adults; and the effect of maternal support and having a mentor on the association.

Methods: Restricted data from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health 2001-2002) were used to identify a Latino subgroup of young adults ages 19 to 26 (n=1,572) who currently lived with their mothers.

Results: The 12-month prevalence of depressive symptoms among Latino young adults was 16%; 97% moved more than 3 times in the previous 7 years; 23% moved from out of state; 85% felt they received strong support from their current mothers; 67% had a mentor. There was a weak association between moves out of state and categorical depressive symptoms (cutoff=10; p=0.0507). Significant covariates were education (p=0.0001) and mother's support (p=0.0001).

Discussion: The effect of mobility as a source of stress and the negative consequences for social adjustment and psychological distress should alert health care providers to the need of identifying these young adults who move frequently. Treating individuals at an early stage will ultimately lead to better outcomes into adulthood.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate the effect of residential mobility on Latino depression Assess the role of maternal support in Latino depression Identify an effective intervention to prevent depression among Latino young adults

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral candidate in Epidemiology. I received a fellowship from the Maryland Population Research Center to conduct this study which is in my area of interest.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4174.0: Mental and physical well-being, stressful lives and social support by gender and life stage