MEDIATORS BETWEEN POVERTY AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH

In spite of overwhelming evidence regarding the negative effects associated with poverty, little is known about the processes which account for the relationship between poverty and mental health problems among inner city African American youth. Identification of these processes is important for improving our understanding of the role of economic stress in the etiology of child and adolescent psychopathology and for the development of interventions to reduce negative outcomes associated with poverty. The proposed research will address this gap in the literature by examining two competing hypotheses to explain the relationship between chronic poverty and psychological problems among inner city African American adolescents. Building on process research with rural white samples, the first hypothesis predicts that the relationship between chronic poverty and adolescent psychological distress will be mediated by family processes. The second hypothesis builds on studies which have found a predictive relationship between exposure to violence and psychological distress. This hypothesis predicts that the relationship between poverty and psychological problems will be mediated by the increased exposure to violence associated with living in low-income inner city neighborhoods. To test these hypotheses, questionnaire and videotaped family interaction data will be collected on 100 inner city African American adolescents and their families.