Publication

Genetic sensitivity to emotional cues, racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among African-American adolescent females

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Last modified
  • 02/20/2025
Type of Material
Authors
    Jessica Sales, Emory UniversityJennifer L. Brown, Texas Tech UniversityAndrea Swartzendruber, Emory UniversityErica L. Smearman, Emory UniversityGene Brody, Emory UniversityRalph Diclemente, Emory University
Language
  • English
Date
  • 2015-06-22
Publisher
  • Frontiers Media
Publication Version
Copyright Statement
  • © 2015 Sales, Brown, Swartzendruber, Smearman, Brody and DiClemente.
License
Final Published Version (URL)
Title of Journal or Parent Work
ISSN
  • 1664-1078
Volume
  • 6
Grant/Funding Information
  • AS was supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant number F32AA022058.
  • Additional research support was provided through the Emory Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI050409).
  • This research was supported by a grant, number K01 MH085506, from the National Institute of Mental Health to the first author, a Medical Scientist Training grant, number T32 GM008169 provided support for ES.
  • Also, grant number R01 MH070537, from the National Institute of Mental Health to RD, and number P30DA02782 to GB provided support for the research.
  • JB was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse grant number R03DA0377860.
Abstract
  • Psychosocial stress, including stress resulting from racial discrimination (RD), has been associated with elevated depressive symptoms. However, individuals vary in their reactivity to stress, with some variability resulting from genetic differences. Specifically, genetic variation within the linked promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) is related to heightened reactivity to emotional environmental cues. Likewise, variations within this region may interact with stressful life events (e.g., discrimination) to influence depressive symptoms, but this has not been empirically examined in prior studies. The objective of this study was to examine whether variation in the 5-HTTLPR gene interacts with RD to predict depressive symptoms among a sample of African-American adolescent females. Participants were 304 African-American adolescent females enrolled in a sexually transmitted disease prevention trial. Participants completed a baseline survey assessing psychosocial factors including RD (low vs. high) and depressive symptomatology (low vs. high) and provided a saliva sample for genotyping the risk polymorphism 5-HTTLPR (s allele present vs. not present). In a logistic regression model adjusting for psychosocial correlates of depressive symptoms, an interaction between RD and 5-HTTLPR group was significantly associated with depressive symptomatology (AOR = 3.79, 95% CI: 1.20-11.98, p = 0.02). Follow-up tests found that high RD was significantly associated with greater odds of high depressive symptoms only for participants with the s allele. RD and 5-HTTLPR status interact to differentially impact depressive symptoms among African-American adolescent females. Efforts to decrease depression among minority youth should include interventions which address RD and strengthen factors (e.g., coping, emotion regulation, building support systems) which protect youth from the psychological costs of discrimination.
Author Notes
  • Correspondence: Jessica M. Sales, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, NE Room 570, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; jmcderm@emory.edu.
Keywords
Research Categories
  • Psychology, Social
  • Biology, Genetics
  • Health Sciences, Public Health

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