Gender Differences in Early Risk Factors for Adolescent Depression Among Low-Income Urban Children

One component of a model by Nolen-Hoeksema and Girgus, who propose that risk factors for adolescent depression are more common in girls than in boys during childhood, was tested with 85 low-income, urban, African American and Latino kindergarten through fourth grade children who completed inventories of depression, stress, attributional style, gender role, and body image. Endorsing two of three predicted risk factors, girls reported slightly poorer body image and identified more strongly with a feminine gender role. Boys, however, reported a more negative attributional style. Feminine gender role was not associated with body image or negative attributional style. The applicability of the proposed model to a low-income, ethnic minority, urban population is discussed.