Education, perceived discrimination and risk for depression in a southern black cohort

Abstract

<b>Objectives:</b> Assess whether education moderates associations between discrimination and depression risk within a southern Black/African American cohort in a labor market shifting from manufacturing and farming to education-intensive industries, such as health care and technology.<b>Methods:</b> Data are from the Pitt County (NC) Study (<i>n</i> = 1154) collected in 2001. Depression risk was assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Study-Depression (CES-D) scale. Discrimination was measured using a subset from the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Education was categorized as completion of less than high school (HS), HS/GED (General Educational Development), or any college.<b>Results:</b> Completing any college mitigated the association between discrimination and CES-D among men (<i>b</i> = -1.33, 95<b>%</b> CI = -2.56, -0.09) but not women (<i>b</i> = -0.19, 95% CI = -1.36, 0.98).<b>Conclusions:</b> Education is protective for depression risk related to discrimination for men but not women. Recent macroeconomic changes placed a premium on higher levels of education in 2018, as in the 1990s. Because racial discrimination remains a stressor in the everyday lives of African Americans regardless of education level, the health benefits of higher education for working-aged African Americans in shifting labor markets warrants further investigation.