142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

306125
Relationship between Perceived Mastery and Depressive Symptoms Among Low-Income Urban Mothers

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Clarissa André, BA , Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Jenna Sandler, MPH , Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center/ Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Yaminette Diaz Linhart, MSW, MPH , Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center/ Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Michael Silverstein, MD, MPH , Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
Background: Disparities in mental health services have prompted the need to understand how different cultural groups experience depression. Although previous research has shown a link between perceived sense of mastery and rates of depression, little is known about this relationship among racial-ethnic groups in the US. We sought to examine the relationship between perceived mastery and depressive symptoms in a population of low-income urban mothers who experience high levels of trauma and situational stress.

Methods:  We analyzed cross-sectional data from 200 participants recruited from Head Start centers in Boston. The Pearlin Mastery Scale (PMS) and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS) were used to measure perceived mastery and depressive symptoms, respectively. Regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between perceived mastery and depressive symptoms; trauma history was added as a covariate to control for the link between trauma and depression.

Results: Mean depressive symptom scores were similar across all racial-ethnic groups (Mean=8.88, SD=5.26). Mean mastery scores were significantly lower in Latina women compared to non-Latina women (Mean Difference=-1.88; 95% CI (-2.99, -0.76)). In all racial-ethnic groups, we found a significant association between perceived mastery and depressive symptoms, even after adjusting for trauma history (Estimate of the Effect=-0.65, 95% CI (-0.81, -0.49)).

Conclusion: Mothers who reported lower perceived control over their lives also tended to endorse higher depressive symptoms. These results also suggest that there may be cultural differences in perceived mastery. Future research should explore the impact of mastery-focused interventions on depression outcomes in different populations.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Analyze the relationship between perceived mastery and depressive symptoms among low-income urban mothers.

Keyword(s): Depression, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a research assistant working on several RCT's on maternal depression. I collaborated with the coordinators, a biostatistician and the PI to do the analysis and write the content of the abstract. I am particularly interested in research that focuses on reducing health disparities in medicine.
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.