Relationship of perceived future opportunity to depressive symptomatology of inner-city African-American adolescents

This study investigated the relationship of perceived future opportunities to level of depressive symptomatology in a sample of 173 adolescents attending inner city non-public schools in a large city in the northeastern region of the United States. Standard multiple regression analysis revealed that lower perceived future opportunity for both females (MR = .37, R²= .13, Beta =−.29) and males (MR = .39, R² = .15, Beta = −.41) were significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Secondary findings showed 46% of African-American students were in the at-risk category for depression and almost a third of students (30%) reported lower levels of perceived future opportunities. Future longitudinal studies are suggested to examine the temporal and casual relationships of perceived future opportunities to depression. Implications for social work policy and practice to improve future opportunities for disadvantaged African-American youth are discussed.