Examining Life-Course Socioeconomic Position, Contextualized Stress, and Depression among Well-Educated African-American Pregnant Women.

PURPOSE: This article explores how childhood and adulthood socioeconomic position (SEP) and socioeconomic mobility, as indicators of life-course experiences, impact the relationship between contextualized stress and depression among well-educated, pregnant African-American women. METHODS: The Jackson, Hogue, Phillips Contextualized Stress Measure and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 101 well-educated, pregnant African-American women during their first and second trimesters. Bivariate associations and regression analysis were conducted to assess life-course SEP, mobility, and contextualized stress as predictors of depression. Based on the demographic data for childhood and adult SES, the SEP and mobility variables were created. RESULTS: Results from χ2 analysis revealed that high contextual stress was significantly associated with no change in mobility, that is, staying the same. Results from regression models found that contextualized stress was the only predictor for depression. Additionally, life-course SEP and mobility did not moderate the relationship between contextualized stress and depression. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings illuminated the persistence of racial and gendered stress as risk factors for depression among well-educated, pregnant African-American women, regardless of life-course SEP. We offer an explanation as to why African-American women who possess the material and social resources thought to mediate psychosocial and pregnancy risks remain in jeopardy.

Contextualized stress, global stress, and depression in well-educated, pregnant, African-American women.

PURPOSE: Well-educated, pregnant, African-American women are disproportionately at risk for adverse birth outcomes and depression linked to stress has been established as a significant contributor to poor birth outcomes. Since racial and gendered stress have been identified as threats to birth outcomes, a cross-sectional study was conducted that utilized the Jackson, Hogue, Phillips Contextualized Stress Measure (JHP), a measurement of racial and gendered stress, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), an assessment of global stress, to detect their associations and predictions for depression as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). METHOD: We recruited 101 pregnant, well-educated, African-American women from ob-gyn offices who were administered the JHP, the PSS, and the BDI-II. Correlational, chi-square, and stepwise regression analyses were conducted with the measures and the demographic variables of relationship status, the presence of other children, and annual household income. FINDINGS: The results revealed significant linear and covariate associations for the JHP, PSS, and BDI-II. Correspondingly, chi-square analysis found significant associations for the JHP and the BDI-II and the presence of other children, relationship status, and annual household income. Results from the regression models found that the contextualized and global stress measures were both predictive of depression. Demographic characteristics did not predict depression. CONCLUSION: The results argue for prenatal depression and stress screening. Furthermore, the link between contextualized stress and depression alerts health care providers and local communities to be responsive to the particular stressors that pose risks for pregnant African-American women and their babies.