Poverty, Race/Ethnicity, and Psychiatric Disorder

A Study of Rural Children

Bibliographic Data

ID11022337
AuthorsE Jane Costello (0000-0002-5094-9017, The authors are with the Developmental Epidemiology Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.), Gordon P Keeler (The authors are with the Developmental Epidemiology Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.), Gordon Keeler (Duke University), Adrian Angold (The authors are with the Developmental Epidemiology Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC.)
Year2001
Volume91
Issue9
Pages1494-1498
Publication date2001-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.91.9.1494
PMID11527787
OpenAlexW2052981271
LanguageEN
Citations received49
References cited26

Objectives. This study examined the effect of poverty on the prevalence of psychiatric disorder in rural Black and White children. Methods. A representative sample of 541 Black children and 379 White children aged 9 to 17 was drawn from 4 predominantly rural counties. Structured interviews with parents and children collected information on psychiatric disorders, absolute and relative poverty, and risk factors for psychiatric disorder. Results. Three-month prevalence of psychiatric disorder was similar to that found in other community samples (20%). Federal criteria for poverty were met by 18% of the White and 52% of the Black families. Black and White children were exposed to equal numbers of risk factors overall, but the association between poverty and psychopathology was stronger for White children (odds ratio [OR] = 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1, 4.2) than for Black children (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 0.9, 2.6). Family history of mental illness, poor parenting, and residential instability mediated this association in both groups. Conclusions. In this rural sample, poverty was only weakly associated with child psychiatric disorders. Risk factors for both racial/ethnic groups were family mental illness, multiple moves, lack of parental warmth, lax supervision, and harsh punishment

Confidence interval · Ethnic group · Mental health · Mental illness · Odds ratio · Poverty · Psychiatry · Psychopathology · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Demography · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology