Which roads lead to depression in Latinas? A network analysis of prenatal depressive symptoms, discrimination, acculturative stress, and low birth weight.
Rebeca Alvarado Harris, Daqi Chen, Hudson P Santos
PMID 35088896WHAT IT FOUND
Discrimination connected acculturative stress, economic hardship, worry, sadness, crying, self-blame, and low birth weight in 151 pregnant Latinas.
The study did not test whether discrimination caused these outcomes.
Key findings
01When discrimination was added to the network, it linked the other experiences to low birth weight.
02Discrimination was correlated with worry, crying, sadness, and self-blame.
03Participants who migrated to the US during childhood reported more depressive symptoms, and discrimination increased with longer US residency.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The network analysis was exploratory, and the authors did not provide statistical significance tests for the network edges. The sample was 151 women from one metropolitan area in North Carolina, so it may not apply to other regions or groups. Discrimination and acculturative stress were self-reported, so they depend on willingness to report. The study measured associations, not whether discrimination caused symptoms or low birth weight. Many parameters were estimated in the network models. Women with severe depressive symptoms, psychosis, bipolar disorder, psychotropic therapy, recent substance dependence, fetal anomaly, or life-threatening conditions were excluded.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that discrimination caused depression or low birth weight. The study was an exploratory network analysis of 151 women from one North Carolina area, and the authors did not provide statistical significance tests for the network connections.