Does Relative Deprivation within Schools Influence Adolescent Depression?

Research on relative deprivation (RD) and health has focused primarily on adult populations. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examines the link between RD and adolescent depression and is the first to test the mechanisms that underlie this relationship. This study finds that controlling for school fixed effects, family income, and observed characteristics of students and their families, students with higher RD within schools exhibit more depressive symptoms. This study also considers how RD may influence adolescent depression. Sobel-Goodman mediation tests reveal that a combination of lowered self-esteem and future expectations (especially about educational attainment) explains nearly half of the association between RD and adolescent depression. Results of this study suggest that social inequality and stratification may implicate population health in the next generation through socioeconomic stratification within schools.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Society and Mental Health

• Publication date

  2020-09-19

• Fields of study

  Sociology, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1177/2156869320959396
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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