BMC Public Health 2007, 7:21 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/7/21 Table 4: Characteristics associated with depressive symptoms in the Latino subsample (N = 1,125) Characteristics Acculturation low vs. high Age: 12–13 vs. 16–17 Age: 14–15 vs. 16–17 Gender: Female vs. male <200% poverty level vs. > 200% Household type: One parent vs. both Support at home: low vs. high Support at school: low vs. high *adjusted for all other variables in the table Ethnic differences in depressive symptoms in different strata of covariates The comparison of the results in the Latino subsample (Table 4) and Latino and Non-Latino White combined sample (Table 3) revealed a strong effect modification. The poverty level, support at home and support at school had consistently a weaker association with depressive symptoms in the Latino sample than in the whole sample. This was confirmed in the formal analysis of interactions and the stratified results are presented in Table 5. The highest odds ratios were found in the more advantaged strata: the odds ratios for Latinos to have depressive symp- toms as compared to Non-Latino Whites ranged from 2.1 in the strata with poverty level ≥ 200% to 3.29 in the strata with high support at school. The odds ratio of having depressive symptoms among Latinos as compared to Non-Latino Whites was 4.62 in the strata with high income and high support both at school and at home. The odds of having depressive symptoms were not different between Latinos and Non-Latino Whites in the strata that had lower levels of income and support at home. Predic- tors of depressive symptoms also varied somewhat in the male and female subsamples (Table 6). In both gender groups, low support at school remained the most impor- tant predictor of depressive symptoms. Among males, additional predictors were low support at home and com- ing from a one parent household which did not emerge as risk factors among females. Among females but not among males, low family income and being 14–15 years old emerged as risk factors for depressive symptoms. Eth- nicity emerged as risk factor for depressive symptoms only among females. Discussion We conducted extensive analyses in a population-based sample of Latino and Non-Latino White adolescents to examine associations between depressive symptoms and socio-demographic variables (age, gender, ethnicity, income, one parent versus two parent household type), acculturation, and social support at home and at school. Model not including acculturation Model including acculturation OR (95% CI)* - 1.22 (0.75–2.00) 1.21 (0.73–2.01) 2.60 (1.72–3.93) 0.96 (0.63–1.46) 1.29 (0.84–1.99) 0.85 (0.57–1.29) 2.53 (1.60–4.00) p-value 0.4 0.5 <0.001 0.8 0.2 0.5 <0.001 OR (95% CI)* 1.54 (0.97–2.44) 1.30 (0.79–2.14) 1.26 (0.75–2.09) 2.64 (1.74–3.99) 0.86 (0.55–1.33) 1.37 (0.88–2.13) 0.84 (0.55–1.27) 2.50 (1.58–3.97) p-value 0.07 0.30 0.39 <0.001 0.50 0.16 0.40 <0.001 Crude analyses suggested that the risk of depressive symp- toms was twice as high among Latinos as compared to Non-Latino Whites (10.5% versus 5.5 %). Other risk fac- tors included female gender, low household income, one parent household, and low support at home and at school. All of these factors have been reported as risk fac- tors for depressive symptoms among Latinos and other ethnic groups [6,8,9,19]. However, when all risk factors were considered simultane- ously in a multivariate analysis, only four independent risk factors emerged: having low support at school, being female, being classified as low acculturation Latino and coming from a one parent household. In a stratified anal- ysis, risk factors that were unique to males were low sup- port at home and coming from a one parent household. Ethnicity was not a risk factor in this stratified analysis, suggesting that these risk factors are similar among both Non-Latino White and Latino male adolescents regardless of ethnic background. Almost one third of children less than 18 years of age in California (29%) live in one parent households: 21% live in mother only households and 7% in father only households [20]. Thus, boys are more likely than girls to live in a one parent household with a parent of the opposite gender. It may be that males growing up without a father in the household are either experiencing something or lacking something, such as for example a male role model, that increases their risk of depressive symptoms. Patten and colleagues [8] analyzed data of a large sample of California adults and also found higher rates of depressive symptoms among adolescents living in one parent households than in those living in two parent households. Their study showed highest rates of depres- sive symptoms among girls living in father only house- holds (25.1% vs. 19.35 in mother only households), whereas the rates of depressive symptoms for boys were around 16% for both father or mother only households [8]. The relative effect of single parent household (which are predominantly single mother households) was stronger for boys than for girls in our analysis. Further Page 6 of 9 (page number not for citation purposes)