Karen Lincoln, assistant professor in the USC School of Social Work, has received an $823,908 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

The two-year grant will help fund a study that investigates the social and psychological risk and protective factors for depression among African Americans, Caribbean blacks, Asian Americans and Latinos. The study will identify typologies of depression and examine the degree to which factors such as social support and negative interaction are associated with these typologies. It will also look at how race, ethnicity and immigration-related factors are associated with these depression typologies.

"I'm very excited. I'm looking forward to highlighting the problem of mental disorders in the black community and other communities of color, and how we can more effectively serve these populations," Lincoln said.

The study uses nationally representative data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys, the first national data with sufficient power to investigate cultural and ethnic influences on mental disorders.

Associate Professor Maria Aranda will serve as the co-investigator.