For both African-American and European American adolescents, self-esteem mediated the relation between ecological risk and depressive symptoms. As exposure to ecological risk increased, adolescents had less positive evaluations of their worth. On the other hand, lower levels of self-esteem were associated with more depressive symptoms. These results make important contributions to the literature on self-system processes as mediators of ecological risk and depressive symptoms. Over the years, it has been well-documented that exposure to adverse ecological conditions, also known as risk factors places youth at elevated risk for poor adjustment. As risk factors increase, the likelihood that youth will experience adjustment problems also increases. This study of 260 African-American and European American children examined a model of risk and resilience in which self-system processes were hypothesized to mediate the relations between ecological risk and depressive symptoms. In addition, the study examined the robustness of the model across urban African-American and European American youth. Figures, table, and references