Self-Judgment and Depression Among Students of Color During the Transition to College: Gender Differences

Research has demonstrated the link between experiences of mental health concerns, such as depression, and college attrition. The risk for mental health concerns is higher among lower-income first-year students of color. Higher levels of self-judgment have been shown to lead to poorer mental health. Female students tend to be higher in self-judgment, and lower-income students are at higher risk for mental health concerns, such as depression, during their first year of college. This study used longitudinal data from three time points to investigate gender's moderating effect on a causal association of self-judgment leading to depression among first-year college students identified by their university as being economically and academically disadvantaged, controlling for time (N = 118; 92.37% non-White; 61.02% female). The findings suggest that self-judgment may be causally related to depression for only female students. Interventions aimed at increasing retention among academically and economically disadvantaged first-year students by targeting a self-judgment-to-depression causal link may be most effective for females.