The prevention of major depression is an important research goal which deserves increased attention. Depressive symptoms and disorders are particularly common in primary care patients and have a negative impact on functioning and well-being comparable with other major chronic medical conditions. The San Francisco Depression Prevention Research project conducted a randomized, controlled, prevention trial to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing such research in a public sector setting serving low-income, predominantly minority individuals: 150 primary care patients free from depression or other major mental disorders were randomized to an experimental cognitive-behavioral intervention or to a control condition. The experimental intervention group reported a significantly greater reduction in depressive levels. Decline in depressive levels was significantly mediated by decline in the frequency of negative conditions. Group differences in the number of new episodes (incidence) of major depression did not reach significance during the 1-year trial. We conclude that depression prevention trials in public sector primary care settings are feasible, and that depressive symptoms can be reduced even in low-income, minority populations. To conduct randomized prevention trials that can test effects on incidence with sufficient statistical power, subgroups at greater imminent risk have to be identified.

This longitudinal study examined the intergenerational gap in acculturation, subsequent conflict, and their mental health consequences in Southeast Asian American adolescents. It was hypothesized that perceived intergenerational discrepancy in acculturation during early adolescence would predict intergenerational conflict in late adolescence, which, in turn, would increase depressive symptomatology in late adolescence. Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (A. Portes & R. G. Rumbaut, 2001; R. G. Rumbaut, 1994), 490 Southeast Asian American adolescents in 8th and 9th grades completed surveys and again 3 years later. The results supported the hypothesis and showed that intergenerational/intercultural conflict fully mediated the longitudinal effect of perceived intergenerational discrepancy in acculturation on depressive symptomatology. Recommendations for community-based interventions for both parents and youth are offered.

Few studies have investigated how the meanings attached to being of a particular culture vary within cultural groups. The meanings of “being Chinese” and “being American” were compared among three Chinese American groups: 122 American-born Chinese (ABC), 119 immigrant Chinese who arrived in the United States before or at age 12, and 112 immigrant Chinese who arrived in the United States after age 12. Participants completed the General Ethnicity Questionnaire (abridged version). For each group, the relationship between “being Chinese” and “being American” and the specific cultural domains (e.g., engagement in American activities, Chinese language proficiency) on which they were based were assessed. Results suggest that “being Chinese” and “being American” were unrelated for ABC, but were negatively related for immigrant Chinese. Results also suggest that for immigrants, the domains on which “being Chinese” and “being American” are based change with increased stay in the United States.

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