Intergenerational education mobility and depressive symptoms in a population of Mexican origin

• Published in: Annals of epidemiology 2016-07, Vol.26 (7), p.461-466
• Main Authors: Ward, Julia B., MPH, Haan, Mary N., MPH, DrPH, Garcia, Maria E., MD, MPH, Lee, Anne, BA, To, Tu My, MPH, Aiello, Allison E., PhD, MS
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Confidence Intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - etiology; Depression - physiopathology; Depressive symptoms; Education; Educational Status; Family; Female; Humans; Intergenerational Relations - ethnology; Internal Medicine; Latinos; Male; Mental health; Mexican Americans; Mexican Americans - psychology; Mexican Americans - statistics & numerical data; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Risk Assessment; Sex Factors; Social mobility; Social Mobility - statistics & numerical data; Socioeconomic factors; United States - epidemiology
• ISSN: 1047-2797; 1873-2585
• DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2016.05.005

Abstract Purpose Low educational attainment has been associated with depression among Latinos. However, few studies have collected intergenerational data to assess mental health effects of educational mobility across generations. Methods Using data from the Niños Lifestyle and Diabetes Study, we assessed the influence of intergenerational education on depressive symptoms among 603 Mexican-origin individuals. Intergenerational educational mobility was classified: stable-low (low parent/low offspring education), upwardly-mobile (low parent/high offspring education), stable-high (high parent/high offspring education), or downwardly-mobile (high parent/low offspring education). High depressive symptoms were defined as scoring ≥10 on the CESD-10. We examined prevalence ratios (PR) for depressive symptoms with levels of educational mobility. We used general estimating equations with log-binomial models to account for within-family clustering, adjusting for age, sex, and offspring and parent nativity. Results Compared to stable-low participants, the lowest prevalence of CESD-10 score ≥10 occurred in upwardly-mobile (PR=0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.39-0.78) and stable-high (PR=0.62; 95%CI=0.44-0.87) participants. Downwardly-mobile participants were also less likely to have a CESD-10 score ≥10 compared to stable-low participants (PR=0.65; 95%CI=0.38-1.11), although the estimate was not statistically significant. Conclusions Sustained stress from low intergenerational education may adversely affect depression. Latinos with stable-low or downwardly-mobile intergenerational educational attainment may need closer monitoring for depressive symptoms.