Effects of the Pathways for African American Success Program: Reductions in Adolescent Depression Through the Promotion of Racial Equity-Informed Parenting and Racial Pride

Abstract

African American adolescents face persistent disparities in depression and related behavioral health outcomes, which have been attributed to experiences with discrimination. The integrative model for the study of stress in Black American families provides a comprehensive perspective on how historical and current discrimination has direct and indirect effects on child behavioral health. Culturally based protective mechanisms (e.g., racial socialization) have been demonstrated to buffer adolescents from the negative effects of discrimination. The Pathways for African American Success (PAAS) program was developed as a scalable eHealth preventive intervention to facilitate parents’ use of strategies to protect their children from exposure to racism and the disproportionate consequences of risk behaviors, which we label as racial equity-informed parenting. Using data from a randomized effectiveness trial of PAAS and following stress and resilience approaches, we tested multiple hypotheses about the nature of discrimination as a source of risk, as well as program-driven improvements in adolescent racial pride as a source of protection. Our risk model indicated adolescent depression was associated with their own (direct) and their parents’ (indirect) experience of discrimination. Mediation analyses showed that program-driven improvements in adolescent racial pride served as a risk reducer/compensatory factor. Findings of moderation analyses, however, showed the negative effects of discrimination, even when racial pride was high. Implications for theory and cultural tailoring of evidence-based preventive interventions are presented.