Latent Class Analysis of Depressive Symptom Phenotypes Among Black/African American Mothers.
Nicole Beaulieu Perez, Gail D'Eramo Melkus, Fay Wright and 5 others
PMID 36729771WHAT IT FOUND
72.9% of Black/African American mothers had low depressive symptoms, but higher stress was linked to a moderate symptom group.
That group showed sleep trouble, fatigue, low libido, self-blame, irritability, and loss of interest.
Key findings
01The analysis included 227 Black/African American mothers. The best model placed 27.1% in a moderate symptom class and 72.9% in a low or negligible symptom class.
02Higher stress scores were associated with moderate symptom class membership. Diabetes status was associated with low-symptom class membership, but the diabetes finding came from a very small subsample.
03The moderate symptom class had higher probability of feeling like a failure, loss of interest, self-hate, self-blame, irritability, disinterest with others, feeling unattractive, insomnia, fatigue, and decreased libido.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional. It cannot show that stress or diabetes caused symptom class membership. The sample had mostly low depressive symptom scores. It says little about severe depression. The depression questionnaire did not include atypical symptoms such as oversleeping, weight gain, and increased appetite. Somatic symptoms may have been underestimated. The diabetes finding came from a very small subsample. It was unexpected. Participants were mothers of young children. The results do not generalize to severely depressed older adults or women without children. The sample was recruited from early care and education centers. It may not represent all Black/African American mothers. Questionnaire self-report can be affected by social desirability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read low depression scores as proof that these mothers are not depressed. The measure may miss somatic and self-critical symptoms, and the sample had mostly low scores.