Perceived Everyday Discrimination, Dysfunctional Attitudes, and Their Influence on Depressive Symptoms and Inflammation in Youth

Depressive symptoms in youth are influenced by psychosocial stressors and cognitive vulnerabilities. Perceived everyday discrimination (PED) is a common stressor linked to mental health issues, while dysfunctional attitudes (DAs), per Beck's cognitive theory of depression, may mediate these effects. Additionally, depressive symptoms have been associated with physical health outcomes, such as inflammation. We examined relationships between PED, DAs, depressive symptoms, and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), a marker of inflammation, in a sample of 98 youth (13–16 years old; 36.4% female, 63.6% male) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds (41.4% Black/African American, 34.8% White/European American, 7.1% Multiracial, 2% Hispanic, 1% Native American, 1% Other). Measures included the Everyday Discrimination Scale, Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and saliva samples. Our regression analyses demonstrated that PED was significantly associated with both DAs and depressive symptoms as well as that DAs were significantly associated with depressive symptoms and IL‐6, while neither PED nor depressive symptoms were significantly associated with IL‐6. Consistent with the regressions, our mediation analyses revealed no significant indirect effects of PED on IL‐6 through DAs, depressive symptoms, or their sequential combination. Our findings support the role of PED as a stressor within Beck's cognitive theory and expand the theory's application by linking DAs to inflammatory processes. Given these connections, nurses can play a crucial role in implementing cognitive interventions to mitigate the effects of DAs and advocating for systemic change to reduce discrimination.