Co-Occurring Mental Health Symptoms in Urban Adolescents: Comorbidity Profiles and Correlates.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To identify subgroups of urban youth based on their self- and teacher-reported mental health symptoms, and to explore characteristics of these subgroups. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from 426 eighth-grade students (Mage = 13.22 years; 70.1% Black/African American; 58.7% female) across 20 Baltimore City public schools were analyzed using latent profile analysis and latent regressions. Variables for latent profile analysis included self-reported symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depression, trauma, interpersonal issues, social problems, and behavioral dysfunction) and teacher-reported symptoms (i.e., externalizing, internalizing, and problems in social and emotional competence). Regressions used profile membership to predict trauma exposure, coping mechanisms, and substance use. RESULTS: A 3-profile solution was found from the latent profile analysis. The profile with high student- and teacher-reported symptoms had more trauma exposures, greater use of maladaptive coping mechanisms, and higher substance use. CONCLUSIONS: The current study may help in the identification of urban youth who are at risk of developing multiple co-occurring psychological disorders to target for prevention efforts.