Cultural, individual, and familial risk and protective factors associated with depressive symptoms in Pacific youth living in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

This article examines cultural, individual, and familial risk and protective factors associated with depressive symptoms in Pacific youth living in New Zealand. At ages 11 (n = 950) and 14 (n = 931), Pacific youth participated in multidisciplinary interviews that included the Children’s Depression Inventory. Across time points, factors significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms were involvement in bullying and gang activities. Positive parenting was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms, and Tongan youth were significantly less likely to report depressive symptoms than Samoan youth. Time-varying factors were gender, problem behaviour syndromes, and maternal education. Gaining more knowledge about modifiable risk and protective factors that contribute to depression in Pacific youth is an important tool to support new approaches that promote adaptive psychological adjustment during adolescence.

KEYWORDS:

• Depression
• depressive symptoms
• ethnic groups
• Pacific youth

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the study participants, the funders, and the Pacific Community Advisory Board.

Ethics Statement

Ethical approval for the Pacific Islands Families Study: Transitioning through Adolescence was awarded by the Health and Disability Committee (13/STH/159/AMOI).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.