Migration Background, Gender, and the Prevention of Depressive Symptoms: A Secondary Analysis

Abstract

Adolescent girls, independent of their migration background, and adolescent boys, specifically with a migration background, experience more depressive symptoms than boys without a migration background. Adolescent girls also benefit more from depression prevention programs than boys. However, no studies have examined the role of migration background on depression prevention. This cluster-randomized trial included 439 eighth-grade students (43.5% girls, 42.4% with a migration background) in Germany. Adolescents were randomized into either a 10-week universal prevention program or school-as-usual. Following our secondary analyses and as predicted, depressive symptoms decreased in girls in the prevention but not in the control group. Consistent with our hypotheses, boys did not benefit from the prevention program, nor was there a significant interaction between gender and migration background. Independent of condition, depressive symptoms increased in adolescents with a migration background. More research is needed to improve depression prevention for adolescent boys and in adolescents with a migration background.