Parental Education Attainment and Educational Upward Mobility; Role of Race and Gender

Upward Mobility Context and Health Outcomes and Behaviors during Transition to Adulthood: The Intersectionality of Race and Sex

This study investigates how upward mobility context affects health during transition to adulthood and its variations by race and sex. Using county-level upward mobility measures and data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we apply propensity score weighting techniques to examine these relationships. Results show that low upward mobility context increases the likelihood of poor self-rated health, obesity, and cigarette use but decreases alcohol consumption probability. Conversely, high upward mobility context raises the likelihood of distress, chronic conditions, and alcohol use but reduces cigarette use likelihood. In low-opportunity settings, Black individuals have lower risks of chronic conditions and cigarette use than White men. In high-opportunity settings, Black women are more likely to experience depression and chronic conditions, and Black men are likelier to smoke than White men. Our findings emphasize the complex link between upward mobility context and health for different racial and sex groups.

Social mobility and mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a robust correlate of mental health, and emerging research indicates that life course trajectories of SES (i.e., social mobility) may be more predictive for health outcomes than point-in-time SES assessments. This paper presents five primary meta-analyses to determine how mental health differs between social mobility groups. We conducted a systematic review of PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed for studies of social mobility and mental health. We used random-effects multilevel meta-analyses to compare mental health problems between individuals who experienced upward mobility, downward mobility, stable high SES, and stable low SES. We included data from 21 studies and 157,763 unique participants yielding 105 effect sizes. Upwardly mobile participants experienced more mental health problems than stable high SES participants (d = 0.11), fewer mental health problems than stable low SES participants (d = -0.24), and fewer mental health problems than downwardly mobile participants (d = -0.17). Downwardly mobile individuals experienced more mental health problems than stable high SES participants (d = 0.26) and fewer mental health problems than stable low SES participants (d = -0.10). Subgroup analyses revealed that the magnitude of effects did not differ by continent of study, type of generational mobility (intergenerational vs. intragenerational), or SES indicator. Meta-regressions with continuous moderators (age, gender, race, study quality) were also non-significant. Taken together, these results indicate that both upwardly and downwardly mobile individuals experience more mental health problems than those who are persistently advantaged, and they both experience fewer mental health problems than those who are persistently disadvantaged. Our findings suggest that while current SES has a stronger association with adult mental health than childhood SES, it is important to also consider the impact of early life and prior generation SES to account for lingering effects of early disadvantage.

Contextualizing black emerging adults' perceptions of neighborhood quality

The ways in which Black emerging adults perceive and evaluate their neighborhoods may be impacted by a host of social and political factors that interplay with their social identities, the social identities of other urban residents, and their time in the area. Early literature on Black emerging adults' perceived neighborhood quality (PNQ) tended to make comparisons to White people and to focus disproportionately on the perceptions of low-income Black people residing in predominately racial/ethnic minority and underresourced communities. Subsequent work on subjective neighborhood assessment has considered specific features of neighborhoods, such as safety or disorder, but a general sense of the quality of one's neighborhood features is still underexplored. The current study adapts Connerly and Marans' (1985) PNQ model to explore the relations between social identities and locations, neighborhood sociostructural features, time in the area, and PNQ among Black urban-residing emerging adults. Block-wise regression results suggest that education and partner status were associated with PNQ. Perceptions of the percentage of Black neighbors and Census Bureau proportions of residents in the zip code who are poor were also associated with PNQ. Length of residence in the neighborhood was marginally associated with PNQ while length of residence in the city/town was not significantly associated with PNQ. For young Black women, combined household income was marginally associated with PNQ, but neighborhood sociostructural features were the strongest contributors to PNQ. In contrast, education was the only significant contributor to PNQ for young Black men. We discuss the ways that the social positions of young Black residents and their neighbors may impact their experiences and evaluations of urban areas.

The effect of entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial intention of different college students: Gender, household registration, school type, and poverty status

Entrepreneurship education (EE) is a crucial link to promoting college students' entrepreneurship, which reduces unemployment, economic development, and poverty. Based on a sample of Chinese college students, this study uses a logistic model to investigate the effect of EE on entrepreneurial intention (EI). It focuses on evaluating the impact of EE on the EI of different groups of college students from the perspectives of gender, household registration, school type, and poverty status. Benchmark regression results show that EE has a significant positive impact on the EI of students. The heterogeneity analysis has the following findings. First, EE has a more significant impact on women's EI, which can reduce the entrepreneurial gap between women and men. Second, EE is more effective in improving the EI of urban students, which will further widen the gap between urban and rural students in entrepreneurship. Third, EE has increased the EI of students from private universities, which represent application-oriented universities. This shows that public universities, which represent research-oriented universities, need to increase the training of talent in practical applications to narrow the gap with private universities in entrepreneurship. Fourth, after receiving EE, the EI of nonpoor students improved more than that of poor students. Equal EE increases the gap between poor and nonpoor students, which can easily lead to an intergenerational cycle of poverty in entrepreneurship. This study provides empirical evidence from college students' entrepreneurship in relatively underdeveloped western China, which supports the development of EE and entrepreneurial activities.

Self-Rated Health of US Older Adults in the General Social Survey (GSS) 1972-2021: Complexity of the Associations of Education and Immigration

BACKGROUND

Multiple studies have shown a link between high education and better self-rated health (SRH). However, recent studies have suggested that immigrants may experience a weaker association between education and SRH than native-born individuals.

AIM

Using a national sample of US older adults, this investigation studied whether there is an inverse association between education and SRH and whether immigration status moderates this association.

METHODS

This study is based on marginalized diminished returns (MDRs) that argues socioeconomic status (SES) resources, such as education, may generate less favorable health outcomes for marginalized groups. Data were from the General Social Survey (GSS) 1972-2021, a cross-sectional survey in the US. A total of 7999 participants who were 65+ years old were included. The independent variable was education, measured as years of schooling and treated as a continuous variable. The dependent variable was poor/fair (poor) SRH. Immigration status was the moderator. Age, sex, and race were control variables. Logistic regressions were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

We found that higher levels of education were protective against poor SRH. However, this effect was weaker for immigrants than for US-born individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that native-born US older individuals are more likely to experience the protective effect of their education against poor SRH compared to their immigrants. Eliminating health inequality between immigrant and US-born individuals needs policies that go beyond socioeconomic status (SES) equality and address barriers that hinder highly-educated immigrants.

Immigration Status, Educational Level, and Perceived Discrimination in Europe

BACKGROUND

Multiple studies have been conducted to test the moderating effect of immigration on the positive health results yielded through educational attainment. However, no study has been conducted to examine the role of immigration as a moderator in the association between educational level and perceived discrimination in Europe.

AIM

We aimed to study whether an inverse association exists between educational level and perceived discrimination in European countries and whether immigration status moderates the association between educational level and perceived discrimination.

METHODS

Data from the 10th round of the cross-sectional European Social Survey (ESS) were used in this cross-sectional study. A total of 17,596 participants between 15-90 years old who lived in European countries were included. The independent variable was educational level, a categorical variable, and the dependent variable was perceived discrimination. Immigration status was the moderator, and age and sex were confounders.

RESULTS

Of 17,596 participants, 16,632 (94.5%) were native-born and 964 were immigrants (5.5%). We found that higher levels of educational level were protective against perceived discrimination, which was also found in immigrant participants; however, the effect was weaker.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that educational level was a protective factor against perceived discrimination. This effect, however, was more robust in the native-born participants than in their immigrant counterparts.

Educational mobility and older adults' working memory updating ability: association and role of resilience

OBJECTIVE

Previous research revealed that a low childhood socioeconomic status, including low parental education, correlates with impaired executive functioning. However, there is a lack of research on the association of working memory updating (WMU) ability, which is one of the major components of executive functioning, and of resilience with educational mobility. The purpose of the present two studies was to further examine these associations.

METHOD

In Study 1, 180, 60-88-year old adults with different levels of educational mobility performed a WMU task. In Study 2, 130, 60-89-year old adults that had experienced different levels of upward educational mobility completed a WMU task and a resilience questionnaire.

RESULTS

Study 1 revealed that extent of educational mobility was significantly positively associated with WMU ability. Study 2 revealed significant positive associations among extent of educational mobility, resilience, and WMU task performance.

CONCLUSION

The results were discussed in terms of possible causal relations between the variables and implications for interventions that aim to enhance upward educational mobility and cognitive functioning in late adulthood.

Race, Childhood Socioeconomic Status, and Region of Childhood Residence as Intersectional Life Course Predictors of Cognitive Aging in the U.S

Background and Objectives

Race, childhood socioeconomic status (cSES), and region of childhood residence are each associated with later life cognition, but no studies have examined how the confluence of these factors influence later life cognitive performance. Guided by intersectionality theory, we examined individuals’ social positionality across these dimensions as a predictor of cognitive performance in later life among non-Hispanic White (NHW) and Black (NHB) older adults.

Research Design and Methods

We used data from the 2010-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with participants ages 65 and older in 2010. We employed growth curve modeling to estimate associations among race, cSES and region of childhood residence, as well as their interactions, and cognitive performance at baseline and over time.

Results

Identifying as NHB, residing in the South, and having lower cSES each were associated with poorer later life cognition at baseline. Childhood residence in the South was an especially strong risk factor for poorer cognition among NHBs. Among NHWs, higher cSES was associated with better baseline cognitive performance, especially among those from the South. NHBs from the South demonstrated a small advantage of higher cSES, but regardless of cSES, NHBs from the South had lower levels of baseline cognitive scores compared to all other subgroups. We found that Southern childhood residence predicted faster rates of change in over a 6-year period.

Discussion and Implications

Our findings suggest that intersectional social positions across race, cSES, and region of childhood residence primarily influence baseline cognition in later life. Results implicate the importance of attention to multiple social positions in the context of racism within social policies and other initiatives to promote equity in life course brain health.

Family's Subjective Economic Status and Children's Matrix Reasoning: Blacks' Diminished Returns

BACKGROUND

Due to a pattern known as Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs), historically oppressed non-Hispanic Black Americans show weaker effects of economic status on health and development, when compared to socially privileged non-Hispanic White Americans. Such MDRs are also documented for the effects of economic status on the school performance of non-Hispanic Black children. However, the existing knowledge is minimal on similar diminished returns on children's intelligence.

AIM

To compare racial and ethnic groups for the effect of subjective economic status on children's cognitive performance, we compared non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black children for the effects of subjective economic status on children's matrix reasoning.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 7898 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The predictor variable was subjective economic status, which was treated as a continuous measure. The primary outcome was children's matrix reasoning, a domain of cognitive performance, measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children-IV (WISC-V) matrix reasoning total score.

RESULTS

Overall, high subjective economic status was associated with higher matrix reasoning score. Race showed a statistically significant interaction with subjective economic status on children's matrix reasoning score. This interaction suggested that high subjective economic status has a smaller boosting effect on increasing matrix reasoning score for non-Hispanic Black children relative to non-Hispanic White children.

CONCLUSION

The degree by which subjective economic status correlates with matrix reasoning score, an important domain of cognitive performance, depends on race and racialization. Non-Hispanic Black children may show weaker gains in matrix reasoning from their subjective economic status than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. To minimize the racial gap in cognitive performance, we need to address diminished returns that occur as a result of the racialization of racial and ethnic minority children. Not only should we equalize economic status, but also increase the marginal returns of economic status for racial minorities, particularly non-Hispanic Black families. Such efforts require public policies that go beyond access and also consider how we can empower non-Hispanic Black communities and families so they can more effectively leverage and utilize their economic resources to secure measurable and tangible outcomes. Structural and societal barriers such as residential and school segregation may hinder non-Hispanic Black children from receiving the full effects of their family-level economic status on a variety of outcomes, including their cognitive performance.

Burnout syndrome and its determinants among healthcare workers during the first wave of the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy: a cross-sectional study to identify sex-related differences

Introduction:

Several studies described burnout levels of healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, sex-related differences remain poorly investigated. Objective: To describe sex-related differences in burnout and its determinants among HCWs during the first pandemic wave of the COVID-19 in Italy.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was performed between April and May 2020. The framework given by the Job Demands Resources (JD-R) model was used to assess burnout determinants (risk and protective factors).

Results:

Male HCWs (n=133) had higher levels of depersonalization than female HCWs (P=0,017) and female HCWs (n=399) reported greater emotional exhaustion rates (P=0,005). Female nurses were the most exposed to burnout (OR=2,47; 95%CI=1,33-4,60; P=0,004), emotional exhaustion (OR=1,89; 95% CI=1,03-3,48; P=0,041), and depersonalization (OR=1,91; 95% CI=1,03-3,53; P=0,039). Determinants of burnout differed between sexes, and some paradoxical associations were detected: the score of job demands was a protective factor in females for burnout, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization, resilience was a risk factor for males.

Conclusions:

This study reveals that the stressors in male and female HCWs tended to be associated with burnout differently. Both sexes showed alarming burnout levels, even if the weights of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization acted in different ways between the sexes. The revealed paradoxical effects in this study could reflect the study’s cross-sectional nature, highlighting that more resilient and empathic individuals were more consciously overwhelmed by the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus reporting higher scores of emotional exhaustion and burnout. Future in-depth and longitudinal analyses are recommended to further explore sex-related differences in burnout among HCWs.

Social Determinants of Cigarette Smoking among American Women during Pregnancy

Educational attainment is among the most substantial protective factors against cigarette smoking, including during pregnancy. Although Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) of educational attainment, defined as weaker protective effect of education for racial and ethnic minority groups compared to Non-Hispanic Whites, has been demonstrated in previous studies; such MDRs are not tested for cigarette smoking during pregnancy. To better understand the relevance of MDRs to tobacco use during pregnancy, this study had three aims: firstly, to investigate the association between educational attainment and cigarette smoking in pregnant women; secondly, to compare racial and ethnic groups for the association between educational attainment and cigarette smoking; and thirdly, to explore the mediating effect of poverty status on such MDRs, among American adults during pregnancy. This cross-sectional study explored a nationally representative sample of pregnant American women (n = 338), which was taken from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH; 2013). Current smoking was the outcome. Educational attainment was the independent variable. Region and age were the covariates. Poverty status was the mediator. Race and ethnicity were the effect modifiers. Overall, a higher level of educational attainment (OR = 0.54, p < 0.05) was associated with lower odds of current smoking among pregnant women. Race (OR = 2.04, p < 0.05) and ethnicity (OR = 2.12, p < 0.05) both showed significant interactions with educational attainment on smoking, suggesting that the protective effect of educational attainment against smoking during pregnancy is smaller for Blacks and Hispanics than Non-Hispanic Whites. Poverty status fully mediated the above interactions. In the United States, highly educated pregnant Black and Hispanic women remain at higher risk of smoking cigarettes, possibly because they are more likely to live in poverty, compared to their White counterparts. The results suggest the role that labor market discrimination has in explaining lower returns of educational attainment in terms of less cigarette smoking by racial and ethnic minority pregnant women.

It's Who You Know That Matters: Identifying Which Type of Informal Mentor Is Most Likely to Promote Economic Mobility for Vulnerable Youth

Children who grow up in low-income households are likely to remain poor throughout their lives. The odds of spending a lifetime in poverty are even greater for children of color, who are more likely to be born into poverty and are less likely to be economically mobile than their White counterparts. Informal mentoring (i.e., a positive relationship with a caring, non-parental adult) has been associated with key steps towards economic mobility, such as educational attainment and workforce participation. Yet previous research also suggests that some mentors may be in a better position to promote the accumulation of these building blocks than others. Our study used data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a cluster analysis, and a series of logistic regressions to examine which types of mentors were associated with the promotion of upward mobility for youth most vulnerable to intergenerational persistence of poverty. Findings demonstrated that the presence of "capital" mentors, or adults who connected youth to other important relationships and resources, was associated with upward economic mobility. Our findings suggest that those who are interested in promoting economic mobility for vulnerable youth should consider investing in ways to connect youth with adults outside their immediate social networks.

Black-White Achievement Gap: Role of Race, School Urbanity, and Parental Education

BACKGROUND

Recent research on Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs) has documented weaker boosting effects of parental educational attainment on educational outcomes of Black than White students. Such MDRs of parental education seem to contribute to the Black-White achievement gap. Given that Blacks are more likely than Whites to attend urban schools, there is a need to study if these MDRs can be replicated at both urban and suburban schools.

AIM

To test the contribution of diminished returns of parental educational attainment on the Black-White achievement gap in urban and suburban American high schools.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study that used baseline Education Longitudinal Study (ELS-2002) data, a nationally representative study of 10th grade adolescents in the United States. This study analyzed 8315 youths who were either non-Hispanic White (n = 6539, 78.6%) or non-Hispanic Black (n = 1776, 21.4%) who were attending either suburban (n = 5188, 62.4%) or urban (n = 3127, 37.6%) schools. The outcome was standard math and reading grades. The independent variable was parental educational attainment. Gender, parental marital status, and school characteristics (% free lunch and relationship quality with the teacher) were the confounders. Race/ethnicity was the effect of modifier. School urbanity was the strata. Linear regression was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

In urban and suburban schools, higher parental educational attainment was associated with higher math and reading test scores. In urban and suburban schools, Black students had considerably lower reading and math scores than White students. At urban but not suburban schools, significant interactions were found between race (Non-Hispanic Black) and parental education attainment (years of schooling) on reading and math scores, suggested that the protective effect of parental education on students' reading and math scores (ie school achievement) is smaller for Non-Hispanic Black relative to Non-Hispanic White youth only in urban but not sub-urban schools.

CONCLUSION

Diminished returns of parental education (MDRs) contribute to the racial achievement gap in urban but not suburban American high schools. This result is important given Black students are more likely to attend urban schools than White students. As MDRs are not universal and depend on context, future research should study contextual characteristics of urban schools that contribute to MDRs.

Parental Education or Household Income? Which Socioeconomic Status Indicator Can Better Reduce Body Mass Index Disparities among Latino Children?

Aim

We compared the effects of parental education and household income on children's body mass index (BMI) in Hispanic White (HW) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) families.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, we borrowed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study and analyzed data of 5100 children between the ages of 9 and 10. The independent variables were parental education and household income. The primary outcome was BMI value. Ethnicity was the moderating variable. Confounders were age, sex, and family structure. Three mixed-effects regression models were used for data analysis.

Results

Overall, higher parental education and household income were associated with lower BMI levels in children. While an interaction was found between ethnicity and parental education, no interaction was noted between ethnicity and household income regarding BMI. The interaction indicated weaker protective effects of high parental education on BMI in HW children than NHW children. Household income showed similar protective effects on children's BMI in HW and NHW families.

Conclusion

Parental education but not household income loses some of its protective effects on childhood BMI among HW families compared to NHW families. Distal social determinants of health may be more vulnerable to the MDRs (minorities' diminished returns) than proximal ones. As a result, closing the income gap may be a good strategy towards closing the childhood BMI gap between highly educated HW and NHW families. Policies that raise the minimum wage and those that help HW families save money (e.g., earned income tax policies) maybe more promising strategies to eliminate the ethnic gap in BMI than increasing the education level of ethnic minority families.

Parental Education, Household Income, Race, and Children's Working Memory: Complexity of the Effects

Background. Considerable research has linked social determinants of health (SDoHs) such as race, parental education, and household income to school performance, and these effects may be in part due to working memory. However, a growing literature shows that these effects may be complex: while the effects of parental education may be diminished for Blacks than Whites, household income may explain such effects. Purpose. Considering race as sociological rather than a biological construct (race as a proxy of racism) and built on Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs), this study explored complexities of the effects of SDoHs on children's working memory. Methods. We borrowed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The total sample was 10,418, 9- and 10-year-old children. The independent variables were race, parental education, and household income. The primary outcome was working memory measured by the NIH Toolbox Card Sorting Test. Age, sex, ethnicity, and parental marital status were the covariates. To analyze the data, we used mixed-effect regression models. Results. High parental education and household income were associated with higher and Black race was associated with lower working memory. The association between high parental education but not household income was less pronounced for Black than White children. This differential effect of parental education on working memory was explained by household income. Conclusions. For American children, parental education generates unequal working memory, depending on race. This means parental education loses some of its expected effects for Black families. It also suggests that while White children with highly educated parents have the highest working memory, Black children report lower working memory, regardless of their parental education. This inequality is mainly because of differential income in highly educated White and Black families. This finding has significant public policy and economic implications and suggests we need to do far more than equalizing education to eliminate racial inequalities in children's cognitive outcomes. While there is a need for multilevel policies that reduce the effect of racism and social stratification for middle-class Black families, equalizing income may have more returns than equalizing education.

How do caregivers affect children's academic performance? Evidence from Primary Caregivers' Educational Attainment and Children's Performance on Standardized Assessments

Children's performance on standardized testing are affected by a variety of external factors, such as access to resources, school environment, or primary caregiver's education. Educational inequalities, likewise, have a negative impact on the quality of education and access to resources, and impact student performance. Student outcomes and performance, hence, are multidimensional in that there are many factors that play a role in student success. For instance, previous research has shown that mother's educational attainment has an impact on their children's academic performance. By understanding the effects of primary caregivers' educational attainment on student achievement, policies can be created to promote equity in the education system. The goal of the present study is to understand the impacts of primary caregivers' educational attainment and language history on children's standardized assessment performance. We analyzed data from a large-scale study that collected demographic information (age, language background, socioeconomic status, primary caregivers' education), standardized assessment scores (math fluency, oral comprehension, working memory, phonological awareness, and vocabulary size), and performance (accuracy, response times) on a simple multiplication task. The study included a total of 176 children, and we hypothesized that children with highly educated primary caregivers were more likely to perform higher on academic assessments and the math task. Results showed that children with fathers as primary caregivers performed better on our measure of math fluency compared to children with mothers as primary caregivers. Additionally, the primary caregiver's educational attainment showed significance in performance on math fluency, oral comprehension, and math task accuracy in the "some college" and "graduate degree" category. Together, these findings suggest that primary caregivers' educational attainment can affect children's performance on standardized assessments, though future research should explore a broader population sample.

Household Income and Children's Depressive Symptoms: Immigrants' Diminished Returns

Introduction

Relative to socially privileged groups, socially marginalized people experience weaker health effects of household income and other economic resources, a pattern known as Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs). These MDRs are frequently seen in racial and ethnic minorities, but less is known about the relevance of such MDRs in immigrant families. To investigate the MDRs of household income on children's depression as a function of immigration, we compared non-immigrant and immigrant children for the effect of household income on children's depressive symptoms.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted across multiple cities in the United States. Baseline data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study collected in 2018 was used. A total of 6,412 children between the ages of 9-10-year-old were included. The predictor variable was household income. The primary outcome was children's depression measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Race, ethnicity, age, sex, parental marital status, parental employment, and financial difficulties were the covariates. Immigration status was the effect modifier.

Results

Overall, high household income was associated with lower children's depressive symptoms. Immigration status showed a statistically significant interaction with household income on children's depression. This interaction term suggested that high household income has a smaller protective effect against depression for immigrant children than non-immigrant children.

Conclusion

The protective effect of household income against children's depression is diminished for immigrant than non-immigrant children.

Not Race or Age but Their Interaction Predicts Pre-Adolescents' Inhibitory Control

Background

African American pre-adolescents are at a higher risk of risky behaviors such as aggression, drug use, alcohol use, and subsequent poor outcomes compared to Caucasian pre-adolescents. All these high-risk behaviors are connected to low levels of inhibitory control (IC).

Aim

We used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) data to compare Caucasian and African American pre-adolescents for the effect of age on pre-adolescents IC, a driver of high-risk behaviors.

Methods

This cross-sectional analysis included 4,626 pre-adolescents between ages 9 and 10 from the ABCD study. Regression was used to analyze the data. The predictor variable was age measured in months. The main outcome was IC measured by a stop-signal task (SST). Race was the effect modifier.

Results

Overall, age was associated with IC. Race also showed a statistically significant interaction with age on pre-adolescents' IC, indicating weaker effects of age on IC for African American than Caucasian pre-adolescents.

Conclusion

Age-related changes in IC are more pronounced for Caucasian than African American pre-adolescents. To eliminate the racial gap in brain development between African American and Caucasian pre-adolescents, we should address structural and societal barriers that alter age-related development for racial minority pre-adolescents. Social and public policies, rather than health policies, are needed to address structural and societal barriers that hinder African American adolescents' brain development. Interventions should add resources to the urban areas that many African American families live in so their children can have better age-related brain development. Such changes would be essential given IC in pre-adolescents is a predictor of a wide range of behaviors.

Socioeconomic Status Inequalities Partially Mediate Racial and Ethnic Differences in Children's Amygdala Volume

BACKGROUND

While race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) impact brain structures such as the amygdala, less is known on whether or not family SES partially explains why amygdala volume is smaller for racial and ethnic minority groups.

PURPOSE

This study tested the mediating effects of family SES on racial and ethnic differences in right and left amygdala volume.

METHODS

We borrowed the structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI) data of the Children Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a brain imaging investigation of childhood brain development in the US. The total sample was 8977, 9-10-year-old children. The independent variables were race and ethnicity. The primary outcomes were right and left amygdala volume. Age, sex, household size, and marital status were the covariates. Multiple SES indicators such as family income, subjective family SES, parental employment, parental education, and neighborhood income were the mediators. To analyze the data, we used regression models without and with our mediators. Sobel test was used to test if these mediational paths are statistically significant.

RESULTS

Black and Latino children had smaller amygdala sizes than non-Latino White children. The effects of race and ethnicity on amygdala volume were partially mediated by SES indicators, suggesting that one of the many reasons Black and Latino children have smaller volumes of right and left amygdala is their lower SES.

CONCLUSIONS

For American children, lower family and neighborhood SES indicators partially, but not fully, explain smaller amygdala sizes of Black and Latino children compared to non- Latino White children.

Youth Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems in the ABCD Study: Minorities' Diminished Returns of Family Income

BACKGROUND

To investigate ethnic differences in the protective effects of family income against youth social, emotional, and behavioral problems in the US. As proposed by the Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs), family income may generate fewer tangible outcomes for ethnic minority compared to NHW families. Our existing knowledge is minimal about diminished returns of family income on parental reports of youth social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes.

AIM

To compare ethnic groups for the effects of family income on parental reports of youth social, emotional, and behavioral problems.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, data from wave 1 of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study were included. The ABCD, an ongoing national cohort of American youth brain development, included 10,762 American youth between ages 8 and 11 years old. The independent variable was family income. The primary outcomes were 1) anxious and depressed mood, 2) withdrawn and depressed affect, 3) somatic complaints, 4) social and interpersonal problems, 5) thought problems, 6) rule-breaking behaviors, 7) attention problems, and 8) violent and aggressive behaviors. These outcomes were generated based on parent-reported behavioral problems measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

RESULTS

Overall, high family income was associated with lower levels of parental reports of youth social, emotional, and behavioral problems across all domains (p <0.05 for all beta coefficients across multivariable regression models). Ethnicity showed statistically significant interactions with family income on youth fewer social, emotional, and behavioral problems (all domains), net of all confounders (p <0.05 for all beta coefficients that reflected interaction terms across multivariable regression models), indicating smaller tangible gains from their family income for NHB and HW compared to NHW youth.

CONCLUSION

The protective effects of family income against behavioral problems are systematically diminished for HW and NHB youth compared to NHW youth. To minimize the ethnic gap in youth social, behavioral, and emotional problems, diminished returns of family income should be addressed. There is a need for programs and interventions that equalize not only SES but also the marginal returns of SES for ethnic groups. Such efforts require addressing structural and societal barriers that hinder HW and NHB families from translating their SES resources into tangible outcomes. There is a need for studies that can minimize MDRs for NHB and HW families. Thus, SES can similarly secure tangible outcomes in the presence of SES resources.

Subjective Socioeconomic Status and Children's Amygdala Volume: Minorities' Diminish Returns

Considerable research has suggested that low socioeconomic status (SES) negatively influences brain structure, including but not limited to decreased amygdala volume. Considering race and ethnicity as sociological rather than biological constructs, this study was built on minorities' diminished returns (MDRs) to test if the effects of family SES on the total amygdala volume is weaker for black and Latino children than white and non-Latino children. We borrowed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a national multi-center brain imaging investigation of childhood brain development in the US. The total sample was 9380 9-10-year-old children. The independent variables were subjective family SES and parental education. The primary outcome was total amygdala volume. High subjective SES and parental education were independently associated with larger total amygdala size. The association between high subjective SES and larger total amygdala volume was less pronounced for black and Latino children than white and non-Latino children. For American children, family SES has unequal effects on amygdala size and function, a pattern that is consistent with MDRs. This result suggests that SES loses some of its expected effects for racial and ethnic minority families.

Parental Human Capital and Adolescents' Executive Function: Immigrants' Diminished Returns

Racial minorities, particularly non-Hispanic Blacks in the US, experience weaker effects of family socioeconomic position (SEP) on tangible outcomes, a pattern called Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs). These MDRs are frequently shown for the effects of family SEP on immigrant adolescents' school performance. As a result of these MDRs, immigrant adolescents from high SEP families show worse than expected cognitive outcomes, including but not limited to poor school performance. However, the existing knowledge is minimal about the role of executive function in explaining diminished returns of family SEP on adolescents' outcomes. To investigate racial differences in the effects of parental human capital on adolescents' executive function, we compared non-Hispanic White non-immigrant and immigrant adolescents for the effect of parental human capital on adolescents' executive function. This was a cross-sectional analysis that included 2,723 non-twin non-Hispanic White adolescents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The independent variable was parental human capital (parental educational attainment), treated as a continuous measure with a higher score reflecting higher subjective socioeconomic status. The primary outcome was adolescents' executive function measured by the stop-signal task (SST). Age, sex, parental marital status, parental employment, family income, and financial difficulties. Immigration status was the effect modifier. Overall, high parental human capital was associated with higher task-based executive function. Immigration status showed statistically significant interactions with parental human capital on adolescents' executive function outcomes. This interaction term suggested that high parental human capital has a smaller effect on increasing immigrants' executive function compared to non-immigrant adolescents. The boosting effect of parental human capital on executive function is diminished for immigrants compared to non-immigrant adolescents. To minimize the inequalities in executive function-related outcomes such as school performance, we need to address the diminishing returns of existing resources for immigrants. Not only should we equalize groups based on their SEP but also equalize the marginal returns of their existing SEP. Such efforts require public policies that aim for equal processes. As such, social policies should address structural and societal barriers such as xenophobia, segregation, racism, and discrimination that hinder immigrant families' ability to effectively utilize their resources. In a fair society, immigrant and non-immigrant families should be equally able to leverage their SEP resources and turn them into tangible outcomes.

Parent Education and Future Transition to Cigarette Smoking: Latinos' Diminished Returns

Background: High parent education is protective against youth health risk behaviors such as tobacco use. According to the Minorities' Diminished Returns theory, however, higher parent education seems to exert less protection for the ethnic minority relative to the majority groups. Objectives: To explore ethnic differences in the effects of parent education on the transition to cigarette smoking in a national sample of American never-smoker adolescents. Methods: This longitudinal study used data of waves 1 and 4 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH 2013-2018). This analysis included 5,021 American youth who were never smokers at baseline (2013) and were followed for 4 years. Transition to cigarette smoking was the dependent variable. Parent education was the independent variable. Youth age, youth gender, and family structure were the covariates. Ethnicity was the moderating variable. Results: From the 5,021 American youth who were never smokers at baseline (2013), 89.4% continued as never smokers, and 10.6% became ever-smokers. Overall, 4.0% were current smokers at wave 4. Overall, a higher parent education was associated with lower odds of transitioning to ever and current cigarette smoker at the end of the 4th year. Parent education, however, showed significant interaction with Latino ethnicity on both outcomes suggesting smaller protective effects of high parent education against transitioning to tobacco use for Latino than for non-Latino youth. Conclusions: In the U.S., ethnicity alters the magnitude of the protective effect of parent education against youth transition to tobacco use. While high parent education is protective against transitioning to become a cigarette smoking overall, non-Latinos (a socially privileged group) gain more and Latino youth (a socially marginalized group) gain least from such a resource. In addition to addressing the SES gap, policymakers should identify and address mechanisms by which ethnic minority youth remain at risk of tobacco use, even when they are from highly educated families.

Education Level and Self-rated Health in the United States: Immigrants' Diminished Returns

Introduction

Although education is among the major socioeconomic status (SES) resources that influence populations' and individuals' health, social marginalization may reduce the health gain that follows access to SES indicators such as education, a pattern called marginalization-related diminished return (MDR). The literature on MDRs, however, has been mainly derived from studies that have defined marginalization based on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Thus, more research is needed on MDRs that may follow as a result of immigration. To extend what is known on immigration status related MDRs, this study compared a national sample of immigrants and non-immigrants for the effect of education on the poor self-rated health (SRH) of adults in the United States.

Methods

With a cross-sectional design, this study employed data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a survey that had enrolled 33,654 adults who were either immigrants (n = 6225; 18.5%) or non-immigrants (n = 27 429; 81.5%). The independent variable was education level, treated as a categorical variable. The dependent variable was SRH treated as a dichotomous variable. Race, ethnicity, age, gender, marital status, and region were the confounders. Immigration (nativity) was the moderator. Logistic regression was used for data analysis.

Results

Higher education credentials were associated with better SRH in the pooled sample; however, immigration showed a significant statistical interaction with education level (college graduation) on the outcome. This interaction was indicative of a smaller protective effect of college graduation on poor SRH among immigrants than non-immigrant adults.

Conclusion

In line with the MDRs framework, the effect of education on SRH is weaker for immigrants than for non-immigrant adults. There is a need to help highly educated immigrants to mobilize their human capital to secure their best health outcomes, similar to non-immigrants. Such strategies may require bold and innovative policy solutions to reduce discrimination against immigrants, so they can more effectively translate their education and human capital into tangible outcomes such as health.

Subjective Family Socioeconomic Status and Adolescents' Attention: Blacks' Diminished Returns

Background: Racial minorities, particularly non-Hispanic blacks (NHBs) in the US, experience weaker effects from their families' socioeconomic status on tangible outcomes, a pattern called the Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) theory. These MDRs are frequently shown in the effects of the families' socioeconomic status (SES) on NHB adolescents' school performance. As a result of these MDRs, NHB adolescents from high SES families show a worse than expected school performance. The existing knowledge is, however, minimal about the role of attention in explaining the diminished returns of the families' SES with regard to the adolescents' outcomes. Aim: To investigate the racial differences in the effects of the subjective family SES on adolescents' attention, we compared non-Hispanic white (NHW) and NHB adolescents to assess the effect of the subjective family SES on adolescents' attention. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis that included 4188 adolescents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. The independent variable was the subjective family SES. The primary outcome was the adolescents' attention to be measured by the stop-signal task (SST). The attention domain of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was also measured. Results: Overall, a high subjective family SES was associated with a higher task-based and CBCL-based attention. Race showed statistically significant interactions with subjective family SES in terms of adolescents' attention outcomes. These interactions suggested that a high subjective family SES has smaller tangible effects on increasing the attention of NHB than NHW adolescents. Conclusion: The boosting effect of subjective family SES on attention is diminished for NHB rather than NHW adolescents. To minimize the racial gap in attention-related behaviors, such as school performance, we need to address the diminished returns of resources in the lives of NHB families. Not only should we equalize SES, but also increase the marginal returns of SES for racial minorities, particularly NHB families. Such efforts require public policies that empower NHB families to better leverage their SES resources and turn them into tangible outcomes. In addition, social policies should directly aim to alter the societal barriers that limit NHB families' ability to effectively utilize their resources. Discrimination, segregation, and racism should be targets of our policy solutions.

African American Children's Diminished Returns of Subjective Family Socioeconomic Status on Fun Seeking

Background: Reward sensitivity (fun-seeking) is a risk factor for a wide range of high-risk behaviors. While high socioeconomic status (SES) is known to reduce reward sensitivity and associated high-risk behaviors, less is known about the differential effects of SES on reward sensitivity. It is plausible to expect weaker protective effects of family SES on reward sensitivity in racial minorities, a pattern called Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs). Aim: We compared Caucasian and African American (AA) children for the effects of subjective family SES on children's fun-seeking. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of 7061 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The independent variable was subjective family SES. The main outcome was children's fun-seeking measured by the behavioral approach system (BAS) and behavioral avoidance system (BIS). Age, gender, marital status, and household size were the covariates. Results: In the overall sample, high subjective family SES was associated with lower levels of fun-seeking. We also found a statistically significant interaction between race and subjective family SES on children's fun-seeking in the overall sample, suggesting that high subjective family SES is associated with a weaker effect on reducing fun-seeking among AA than Caucasian children. In race-stratified models, high subjective family SES was protective against fun-seeking of Caucasian but not AA children. Conclusion: Subjective family SES reduces the fun-seeking for Caucasian but not AA children.

Diminished Returns of Parental Education in Terms of Youth School Performance: Ruling out Regression toward the Mean

Background: Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) refer to systemically weaker effects of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators on various developmental, behavioral, and health outcomes of ethnic minorities compared to non-Hispanic (non-Latino) Whites. Similar MDRs also exist for the effects of parental education on the school performance of ethnic minority youth. Aim: To assess whether regression toward the mean (RTM) has any role in explaining the diminished effects of parental education on the school performance of Black and Hispanic youth relative to non-Hispanic White youth. Materials and methods: Data for this cross-sectional study came from the Monitoring the Future survey (MTF, 2017), a nationally representative survey of American youth in 12th grade. The sample included 10,262 youth who were 12th graders (typically 17–18 years old). The independent variable was parental education with five categories: Some high school, High school graduate, Some college, College graduate, and Graduate school. The outcome was self-reported school performance measured as grade point average (GPA). Ethnicity was the effect modifier. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey Post Hoc test was used to analyze the data. Data visualization (line graphs) was used to visualize the shape of youth GPA as a function of parental education levels across ethnic groups. Results: While a perfect stepwise increase was seen in youth school performance as a result of parental education improvement, this pattern differed considerably across ethnic groups. Such a perfect stepwise increase in youth school performance as a result of the incremental increase in parental education was missing for Black and Hispanic youth. The shape of the association between parental education and youth school performance ruled out regression toward the mean (RTM) as an explanation for the observed diminished effects of parental education on the school performance of Black and Hispanic youth. Conclusion: Diminished returns of parental education on the school performance of Black and Hispanic youth cannot be explained by regression toward the mean. Other factors and contextual processes, such as segregation, discrimination, racism, and poor quality of schools in urban areas, should be investigated in future research.

Educational mobility and telomere length in middle-aged and older adults: testing three alternative hypotheses

Critical period, social mobility, and social accumulation are three hypotheses that may explain how educational mobility impacts health. Thus far, there is little evidence on how these processes are associated with biological aging as measured by telomere length. Using cross-sectional data from the 2008 Health and Retirement Study, we examined the association between educational mobility (parental education and contemporaneous education) and telomere length. The final model is adjusted for sociodemographic factors and socioeconomic status, childhood adversity, and health behaviors/risk factors, as well as depressive symptoms. A total of 1,894 participants were included in the main analyses. High parental education was associated with longer telomere length in a fully adjusted model (B = 0.03, CI [0.002,0.07]). Downwardly mobile individuals (high parental education and low contemporaneous education) had longer telomere length compared to stably low individuals in a fully adjusted model (B = 0.05, CI [0.004,0.09]). There was support for the critical period hypothesis and partial support for the change hypothesis. There was no evidence to support the social accumulation hypothesis. Prospective studies are needed to understand the mechanism that can help further explain the association between educational mobility and telomere length.

Reward Responsiveness in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study: African Americans' Diminished Returns of Parental Education

(1) Background: Reward responsiveness (RR) is a risk factor for high-risk behaviors such as aggressive behaviors and early sexual initiation, which are all reported to be higher in African American and low socioeconomic status adolescents. At the same time, parental education is one of the main drivers of reward responsiveness among adolescents. It is still unknown if some of this racial and economic gap is attributed to weaker effects of parental education for African Americans, a pattern also called minorities' diminished returns (MDRs). (2) Aim: We compared non-Hispanic White and African American adolescents for the effects of parent education on adolescents RR, a psychological and cognitive construct that is closely associated with high-risk behaviors such as the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. (3) Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis that included 7072 adolescents from the adolescent brain cognitive development (ABCD) study. The independent variable was parent education. The main outcome as adolescents' RR measured by the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) measure. (4) Results: In the overall sample, high parent education was associated with lower levels of RR. In the overall sample, we found a statistically significant interaction between race and parent education on adolescents' RR. The observed statistical interaction term suggested that high parent education is associated with a weaker effect on RR for African American than non-Hispanic White adolescents. In race-stratified models, high parent education was only associated with lower RR for non-Hispanic White but not African American adolescents. (5) Conclusion: Parent education reduces RR for non-Hispanic White but not African American adolescents. To minimize the racial gap in brain development and risk-taking behaviors, we need to address societal barriers that diminish the returns of parent education and resources in African American families. We need public and social policies that target structural and societal barriers, such as the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources. To meet such an aim, we need to reduce the negative effects of social stratification, segregation, racism, and discrimination in the daily lives of African American parents and families. Through an approach like this, African American families and parents can effectively mobilize their resources and utilize their human capital to secure the best possible tangible outcomes for their adolescents.

African Americans' Diminished Returns of Parental Education on Adolescents' Depression and Suicide in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study

To investigate racial and ethnic differences in the protective effects of parental education and marital status against adolescents' depressed mood and suicidal attempts in the U.S. As proposed by the Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs), parental education generates fewer tangible outcomes for non-White compared to White families. Our existing knowledge is very limited regarding diminished returns of parental education and marital status on adolescents' depressed mood and suicidal attempts. To compare racial groups for the effects of parental education and marital status on adolescents' depressed mood and suicidal attempt. This cross-sectional study included 7076 non-Hispanic White or African American 8-11 years old adolescents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The independent variables were parental education and marital status. The main outcomes were depressed mood and suicidal attempts based on parents' reports using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS). Age and gender were the covariates. Race was the moderator. Logistic regression was used to analyze the ABCD data. Overall, parental education was associated with lower odds of depressed mood (OR = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.67-0.99; p = 0.037) and having married parents was associated with lower odds of suicidal attempts (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.28-0.91; p = 0.022). In the pooled sample, we found interaction terms between race with parental education and marital status on the outcomes, suggesting that the protective effect of having married parents against depressed mood (OR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.00-2.37; p = 0.048) and the protective effect of having married parents against suicidal attempts (OR = 6.62; 95% CI = 2.21-19.86; p =0.001) are weaker for African Americans when compared to Whites. The protective effects of parent education and marital status against depressed mood and suicidal attempts are diminished for African American adolescents compared to White adolescents. There is a need for programs and interventions that equalize not only socioeconomic status (SES) but also the marginal returns of SES for racial minority groups. Such efforts require addressing structural and societal barriers that hinder African American families from translating their SES resources and human capital into tangible outcomes. There is a need for studies that can minimize MDRs for African American families, so that every individual and every family can benefit from their resources regardless of their skin color. To achieve such a goal, we need to help middle-class African American families secure tangible outcomes in the presence of SES resources.

Prostate Cancer Screening in Middle-Aged and Older American Men: Combined Effects of Ethnicity and Years of Schooling

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer screening is more commonly utilized by highly educated people. As shown by marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs), the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) such as education on the health outcomes are considerably smaller for ethnic minorities than for Whites. The role of MDRs as a source of ethnic health disparities is, however, still unknown.

OBJECTIVES

The current study had two aims: first, to explore the association between years of schooling and having taken a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test among men in the US, and second, to explore ethnic differences in this association.

METHODS

This study was a secondary analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS-2015). The data of 5,053 men aged 55 years or older who were either Latino, non-Latino, African-American, or White were analyzed. Years of schooling was the independent variable. The dependent variable was taking a PSA test sometime during one's lifetime. Age, region, and employment were the control variables. Ethnicity was the focal moderating variable. Binary logistic regression was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

A higher number of years of schooling was associated with higher odds of having taken a PSA test, net of all confounders. Ethnicity showed a significant statistical interaction with years of schooling on having taken a PSA test. This interaction was suggestive of a smaller slope for Latino men than non-Latino men. White and African American men did not show differential effects of years of schooling on having taken a PSA test.

CONCLUSION

Similar to the MDRs patterns in other domains, non-Latino White men show more health gain from their years of schooling than Latino men. Highly educated Latino men still need programs to encourage their use of prostate cancer screening.

Family Socioeconomic Status and Exposure to Childhood Trauma: Racial Differences

BACKGROUND

Minorities' diminished returns (MDRs) refer to weaker effects of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators such as parental educational attainment and family income in generating tangible childhood outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities compared to the majority group, a pattern prevalent in the US. Our existing knowledge is minimal, however, about diminished returns of family SES on reducing exposure to childhood trauma.

AIM

To determine if there was a difference between non-Hispanic whites (NHW) and non-Hispanic blacks (NHB) in the effect of SES on exposure to childhood trauma among children ages 8-11 years old.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from 4696 NHW or NHB American 8-11-year-old children who were participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. The independent variables were parental educational attainment and family income. The primary outcome was exposure to 1 or 2+ childhood traumas, measured by the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) semi-structured interview. Polynomial regression was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Parental education and family income had statistically significant protective (negative) effects on childhood trauma, indicating children from high income and highly educated families were exposed to a lower level of childhood trauma. However, race/ethnicity showed statistically significant interactions with parental education and family income on exposure to childhood trauma, indicating weaker protective effects of parental education and family income on reducing exposure to trauma for NHB compared to NHW children. Race-specific models showed protective effects of parental education and family income on exposure to childhood trauma for NHW but not NHB children.

CONCLUSION

The protective effects of parental education and family income against exposure to childhood trauma are systematically diminished for NHBs compared to NHWs. To minimize the racial/ethnic health gaps, diminished returns of parental education and family income should be addressed. There is a need for programs and interventions that equalize not only SES but also the marginal returns of SES for ethnic groups. Such efforts require addressing structural and societal barriers that hinder NHB families from translating their SES resources into tangible outcomes. There is a need for studies that can minimize MDRs for NHB families, such that SES can similarly secure tangible outcomes in the presence of SES resources.

Combined Effects of Race and Educational Attainment on Physician Visits Over 24 Years in a National Sample of Middle-Aged and Older Americans

Background

The literature on Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) have shown worse than expected health of the members of racial and ethnic minority groups particularly Blacks. Theoretically, this effect can be in part due to weaker effects of educational attainment on preventive care and disease management in highly educated racial and ethnic minorities.

Objectives

The current study explored the racial and ethnic differences in the effect of baseline educational attainment on % adherance to the routine physician visits among middle-aged and older adults in the US.

Methods

This is a prospective study with 24 years of follow up. The Health and Retirement Study (HRS: 1992-2016) included 10 880 middle-aged and older adults who were Hispanic, non-Hispanic, Black or White. The independent variable was educational attainment. The dependent variable was adherance to the routine physician visits (%). Age, gender, marital status, income, health behaviors (smoking and drinking) and health (depression, self-rated health, and chronic diseases) were the covariates. Race and ethnicity were the focal moderators. Linear regression was used for data analysis.

Results

Overall, higher educational attainment was associated with higher % of adherance to the routine physician visits over the course of follow-up, net of all confounders. Race showed a significant statistical interaction with educational attainment suggesting of a smaller effect of high education attainment on % adherance to the routine physician visits for Black than White middle-aged and older adults. A similar interaction could not be found for the comparison of Hispanic and non-Hispanic middle-aged and older adults.

Conclusion

Educational attainment is associated with a larger increase in preventive and disease management doctor visits for White than Black middle-aged and older adults. This is a missed opportunity to improve the health of highly educated middle-aged and older adults. It is not race/ethnicity or class that shapes health behaviors but race/ethnicity and class that shape people's pro-health behaviors. At least some of the racial health disparities is not due to low SES but diminished returns of SES.

Racial Difference in the Relationship Between Health and Happiness in the United States

Background

Although health is a prerequisite for happiness, the salience of health for maintaining happiness may be diminished for Blacks when compared to Whites, a phenomenon which can be explained by the Black-White mental health paradox and minorities’ diminished returns.

Aim

To understand if Black and White adult Americans differ in the effects of self-rated health (SRH) on happiness.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used data from the General Social Survey (GSS; 1972–2018), a nationally representative survey in the US. Our analytical sample included 42,201 Black and White adults. The independent variable was SRH. Happiness was the dependent variable. Sociodemographic factors were covariates. Race was the moderator. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data without and with interaction terms between race and SRH.

Results

Overall, good SRH was positively associated with happiness, however, there was a significant interaction between race/ethnicity and good SRH on the outcome (i.e. happiness) . This finding suggested that the boosting effect of good SRH on happiness is weaker for Black than White people.

Conclusion

In the United States, due to a weaker concordance between good health and happiness, Blacks who have poor SRH are more likely to report happiness. At the same time, Whites who are healthy report happiness, however, Blacks who are healthy do not necessarily report happiness. Disjointed link between health and happiness may be due to different racial, ethnic, and cultural perceptions of physical health and happiness as well as salience of physical health as a component of happiness. This may be an adaptive response of Blacks to sociopolitical as well as health-related adversities over centuries as a result of the combination of oppression, injustice, and poverty.

Protective Effects of Parental Education Against Youth Cigarette Smoking: Diminished Returns of Blacks and Hispanics

Background

High parental educational attainment is protective against youth health risk behaviors such as tobacco use. According to the Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs) theory, however, higher parental education is less protective for marginalized groups relative to non-Hispanic Whites.

Objective

To explore race/ethnic differences in the effects of parental educational attainment on cigarette smoking in a national sample of American adolescents.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study, we used baseline data of 10,878 American youth who had participated in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH 2013). The independent variable was parental educational attainment. The dependent variables were lifetime cigarette smoking, current (past 30-day) cigarette moking, and daily cigarette smoking. Youth age, youth gender, and parental marital status were the covariates. Race/ethnicity was the moderating variable. Logistic regression model was used for data analysis.

Results

Overall, a higher parental educational attainment was associated with a lower lifetime cigarette smoking, current (past 30-day) cigarette smoking, and daily cigarette smoking. Parental educational attainment showed significant interaction with race/ethnicity suggesting smaller protective effects of parental educational attainment on youth tobacco outcomes for Black and Hispanic than for non-Hispanic White youth.

Conclusion

For American youth, race/ethnicity limits the health gains that are expected to follow parental educational attainment. While high parental educational attainment is protective against smoking overall, non-Hispanic Whites (the most socially privileged group) gain most and Blacks and Hispanics (the least socially privileged groups) gain least from such resource. In addition to addressing low SES, researchers and policymakers should identify and address mechanisms by which high SES minority youth remain at risk of tobacco use.

Parental Education on Youth Inhibitory Control in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study: Blacks' Diminished Returns

BACKGROUND

Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) youth are at a higher risk of high-risk behaviors compared to non-Hispanic White (NHW) youth. Some of this racial gap is shown to be due to weaker effects of parental educational attainment on reducing the prevalence of behavioral risk factors such as impulsivity, substance use, aggression, obesity, and poor school performance for NHBs, a pattern called Minorities' Diminished Returns. These diminishing returns may be due to lower than expected effects of parental education on inhibitory control.

AIM

We compared NHW and NHB youth for the effect of parental educational attainment on youth inhibitory control, a psychological and cognitive construct that closely predicts high-risk behaviors such as the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional analysis that included 4188 youth from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The independent variable was parental educational attainment. The main outcome was youth inhibitory control measured by the stop-signal task (SST), which was validated by parent reports on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

RESULTS

In race/ethnicity-stratified models, high parental educational attainment was associated with a higher level of inhibitory control for NHB than NHW youth. In the pooled sample, race/ethnicity showed a statistically significant interaction with parental educational attainment on youth inhibitory control suggesting that high parental educational attainment has a smaller boosting effect on inhibitory control for NHB than NHW youth.

CONCLUSION

Parental educational attainment boosts inhibitory control for NHW but not NHB youth. To minimize the racial gap in youth brain development, we need to address societal barriers that diminish the returns of family economic and human resources, particularly parental educational attainment, for racial and ethnic minority youth. Social and public policies should address structural and societal barriers such as social stratification, segregation, racism, and discrimination that hinder NHB parents' abilities to effectively mobilize their human resources and secure tangible outcomes for their developing youth.

Minorities' Diminished Returns of Parental Educational Attainment on Adolescents' Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems

Aim: To compare racial groups for the effect of parental educational attainment on adolescents' social, emotional, and behavioral problems. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 10,762 youth from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study were included. The independent variable was parental educational attainment. The main outcomes were 1) anxious and depressed mood, 2) withdrawn and depressed affect, 3) somatic complaints, 4) social and interpersonal problems, 5) thought problems, 6) rule-breaking behaviors, 7) attention problems, and 8) violent and aggressive behaviors. These scores were generated based on parent-reported behavioral problems measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Race and ethnicity were the moderators. Linear regression was used to analyze the ABCD data. Results: Overall, high parental educational attainment was associated with lower scores across all domains. Race and ethnicity showed statistically significant interactions with parental educational attainment on adolescents' fewer social, emotional, and behavioral problems (all domains), net of all confounders, indicating smaller tangible gains from their parental educational attainment for Black and Hispanic compared to non-Hispanic White adolescents. Conclusion: The protective effects of parental education against social, emotional, and behavioral problems are systematically diminished for Hispanic and Black than non-Hispanic White adolescents.

Parental Educational Attainment and Social Environmental of Urban Public Schools in the U.S.: Blacks' Diminished Returns

Background: Recent research has documented marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs) of socioeconomic status (SES), defined as weaker effects of SES indicators, such as parental educational attainment, on securing tangible outcomes for the members of socially marginalized (e.g., racial and ethnic minority) groups, compared to privileged social groups (e.g., non-Hispanic Whites). Aims: To explore race/ethnic differences between non-Hispanic Blacks vs. non-Hispanic Whites who attend urban public schools on the effect of parental education on lower school environmental risk among American high schoolers. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we borrowed the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS-2002) baseline data, a nationally representative study that enrolled 1706 10th grade youths who were attending urban public schools. From this number, 805 (47.2%) were non-Hispanic Black and 901 (52.8%) were non-Hispanic White youths. The dependent variable was the level of school social environmental risk measured using 18 items as self-reported, and was treated as a continuous variable. The independent variable was parental educational attainment, treated as a continuous measure. Gender, region, and parental marital status were the covariates. Race/ethnicity was the moderating variable. Linear regressions were applied to perform our data analysis. Results: Black students were found to attend schools with higher levels of social environmental risk. Youths with parents with a higher educational attainment were found to attend schools with a lower social environmental risk. We found a significant interaction between race (non-Hispanic Black vs. non-Hispanic White) and parental educational attainment on the level of school social environmental risk, suggesting that the protective effect of high parental education on reducing the school social environmental risk was smaller for non-Hispanic Black than for non-Hispanic White youths. Conclusions: Although high parental educational attainment is protective against social environmental risk for American youths, this protective effect is weaker for non-Hispanic Black than non-Hispanic White youths. The diminished returns of parental education in reducing school social environmental risk may explain why the effects of parental education on educational outcomes are smaller for non-Hispanic Black than non-Hispanic White youths (i.e., MDRs). The social environment indirectly generates racial youth educational disparities through deteriorating non-Hispanic Black youth educational outcomes across all SES levels. To prevent the confounding effects of private, suburban, rural, and Catholic schools, we limited this analysis to public urban schools. More research is needed on other settings.

Combined Effects of Ethnicity and Education on Burden of Depressive Symptoms over 24 Years in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States

Ethnicity and educational attainment are among the major social determinants of depression in the general population. While high education credentials protect individuals against depressive symptoms, this protection may be weaker for ethnic minority groups such as Hispanic Whites compared to the majority group (non-Hispanic Whites). Built on marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs), the current study used 24-year follow-up data from a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults to explore ethnic variation in the protective effect of education levels against the burden of depressive symptoms over time. Data for this analysis were borrowed from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS 1992-ongoing), a nationally representative longitudinal study. HRS followed 8314 middle-aged and older adults (50+ years old) for up to 24 years. From this number, 763 (9.2%) were Hispanic White, and 7551 (90.8%) were non-Hispanic White Americans. Education level was the independent variable. We had two outcomes. Firstly, using cluster analysis, individuals were categorized to low- and high-risk groups (regarding the burden of depressive symptoms over 24 years); secondly, average depressive symptoms were observed over the 24 years of follow up. Age and gender were the covariates. Ethnicity was the moderator. Linear and logistic regression were used for analysis. Logistic regression showed that, overall, high educational credentials reduced the odds of chronic depressive symptoms over the 24 years of follow-up. Linear regression also showed that higher years of education were associated with lower average depressive symptoms over time. Both models showed statistically significant interactions between ethnicity and graduation, indicating a smaller protective effect of high education against depressive symptoms over the 24 years of follow-up time among Hispanic with respect to non-Hispanic White people. In line with the MDRs, highly educated Hispanic White Americans remain at high risk for depressive symptoms, a risk that is unexpected given their education. The burden of depressive symptoms, however, is lowest for highly educated non-Hispanic White Americans. Policies that exclusively focus on equalizing educational gaps across ethnic groups may fail to eliminate the ethnic gap in the burden of chronic depressive symptoms, given the diminished marginal health return of education for ethnic minorities. Public policies must equalize not only education but also educational quality across ethnic groups. This aim would require addressing structural and environmental barriers that are disproportionately more common in the lives of ethnic minorities across education levels. Future research should test how contextual factors, residential segregation, school segregation, labor market practices, childhood poverty, and education quality in urban schools reduce the health return of educational attainment for highly educated ethnic minorities such as Hispanics.

Place-Based Diminished Returns of Parental Educational Attainment on School Performance of Non-Hispanic White Youth

BACKGROUND

Youth educational outcomes are a function of a wide range of factors including parental education level. This effect, however, is shown to be smaller for African American, Hispanic, and Asian American youth, a pattern called Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs). It is, however, unknown if it is race/ethnicity or other conditions associated with race/ethnicity (e.g., poor neighborhood quality) which reduces the marginal returns of parental education for youth.

AIM

To explore whether MDRs are only due to race/ethnicity or if they also remain for non-Hispanic Whites in poor neighborhoods, we compared the association between parental education level and adolescents' school performance based on neighborhood quality in a nationally representative sample of non-Hispanic Whites in the United States.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study used wave 1 of the Add Health study, an ongoing nationally representative cohort, 1994-2019. Participants included 849 non-Hispanic White adolescents between the ages of 12 and 21 years and their parents. The independent variable was parental education level, which was treated as a continuous measure. Age, grade, gender, and parental marital status were the covariates. The dependent variable was school performance (sum of school grades in Math, English, History, and Science). Linear regression models were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Overall, worse neighborhood quality was associated with worse school performance. Parental education level, however, was not directly associated with youth school performance. We found a statistically significant interaction between parental education level and neighborhood quality suggesting that the strength of the association between parental education and youth school performance weakens as neighborhood quality declines.

CONCLUSION

Parental education level is a more salient determinant of youth educational outcomes in better neighborhoods. The result suggests that MDRs may not be solely due to race/ethnicity but contextual factors that commonly covary with marginalization and poverty. These contextual factors may include segregation, concentration of poverty, and social and physical neighborhood disorder.

Educational Attainment Better Increases the Chance of Breast Physical Exam for Non-Hispanic Than Hispanic American Women: National Health Interview Survey

Background

The Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) theory suggests that the health effect of educational attainment is considerably smaller for members of racial and ethnic minority groups than for Whites.

Objective

The current study explored the racial and ethnic differences in the association between educational attainment and breast physical exam (BPE) among women in the U.S.

Methods

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS 2015) included 12 510 women who were Hispanic or non-Hispanic Black or White people. The independent variable was the level of educational attainment. The dependent variable was lifetime BPE. Age, region, marital status, and employment were the covariates. Race and ethnicity were the focal moderators. Logistic regressions were used for data analysis.

Results

Overall, higher educational attainment was associated with higher odds of BPE, net of all confounders (odds ratio [OR] = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.09-1.13). Ethnicity showed a significant statistical interaction with educational attainment on BPE (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.93-1.00), which was suggestive of a smaller effect of high education attainment on BPE for Hispanic than non-Hispanic women. The same interaction could not be found for the comparison of White and Black women (OR = 0.98, 95% CI =0.94-1.02).

Conclusion

In line with other domains, non-Hispanic White women show a larger amount of health gain from their educational attainment than Hispanic women. It is not ethnicity or class but ethnicity and class that shapes how people engage in pro-health behaviors. This result may help hospitals and healthcare systems to better reduce health disparities in their target populations.

Parental Educational Attainment and Black-White Adolescents' Achievement Gap: Blacks' Diminished Returns

Recent research has documented Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs), defined as weaker protective effects of parental educational attainment and other socioeconomic status (SES) indicators for racial and ethnic minority groups. To explore racial differences in the associations between parental educational attainment and youth educational outcomes among American high schoolers. This cross-sectional study used baseline data from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS-2002), a nationally representative survey of 10th grade American youth. This study analyzed 10702 youth who were composed of 2020 (18.9%) non-Hispanic Black and 8682 (81.1%) non-Hispanic White youth. The dependent variables were youth math and reading grades. The independent variable was parental educational attainment. Gender, parental marital status, and school characteristics (% students receiving free lunch, academic risk factors, urban school, public school) were the covariates. Race was the moderating variable. Linear regression was used for data analysis. Overall, higher parental educational attainment was associated with higher math and reading test scores. We found a significant interaction between race (Non-Hispanic Black) and parental education attainment on math and reading test scores, suggesting that the boosting effects of high parental educational attainment on youth educational outcomes might be systemically smaller for Non-Hispanic Black than for Non-Hispanic White youth. While high parental educational attainment promotes educational outcomes for youth, this association is weaker for Non-Hispanic Black youth than non-Hispanic White youth. The diminished returns of parental education are beyond what can be explained by school characteristics that differ between Non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White students. Diminishing returns of parental educational attainment (MDRs) may be an unrecognized source of racial youth disparities. Equalizing SES would not be enough for equalizing outcomes. There is a need for public and economic policies that reduce diminished returns of SES for Black families.

Mathematical Performance of American Youth: Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment of Asian-American Parents

The Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDR) phenomenon refers to the weaker effects of parental educational attainment for marginalized groups, particularly ethnic minorities. This literature, however, is limited to Blacks and Hispanics; thus, it is not clear if the MDR phenomenon also applies to the educational performance of Asian Americans or not. To explore ethnic differences in the association between parental educational attainment and youth mathematical performance among 10th-grade American high schoolers, this cross-sectional study used baseline data from the Education Longitudinal Study, a national survey of 10th-grade American youth. The analytical sample included a total number of 10,142 youth composed of 1460 (14.4%) Asian-American and 8682 (85.6%) non-Hispanic youth. The dependent variable was youth math performance (standard test score). The independent variable was parental education. Gender, both parents living in the same household, and school characteristics (% students receiving free lunch, urban school, and public school) were the covariates. Ethnicity was the moderating variable. Linear regression was used for data analysis. Overall, parental educational attainment was positively associated with math ability (test score). We observed a statistically significant interaction between ethnicity (Asian American) and parental education attainment on the results of math test scores, indicating that the boosting effect of high parental educational attainment on youth math function is smaller for Asian-American youth than for Non-Hispanic White youth. While high parental educational attainment contributes to youth educational outcomes, this association is weaker for Asian-American youth than non-Hispanic White youth. Diminished returns (weaker effects of parental education in generating outcomes for ethnic minorities) that are previously shown for Hispanics and Blacks also apply to Asian Americans.

Mathematical Performance of American Youth: Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment of Asian-American Parents

The Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDR) phenomenon refers to the weaker effects of parental educational attainment for marginalized groups, particularly ethnic minorities. This literature, however, is limited to Blacks and Hispanics; thus, it is not clear if the MDR phenomenon also applies to the educational performance of Asian Americans or not. To explore ethnic differences in the association between parental educational attainment and youth mathematical performance among 10th-grade American high schoolers, this cross-sectional study used baseline data from the Education Longitudinal Study, a national survey of 10th-grade American youth. The analytical sample included a total number of 10,142 youth composed of 1460 (14.4%) Asian-American and 8682 (85.6%) non-Hispanic youth. The dependent variable was youth math performance (standard test score). The independent variable was parental education. Gender, both parents living in the same household, and school characteristics (% students receiving free lunch, urban school, and public school) were the covariates. Ethnicity was the moderating variable. Linear regression was used for data analysis. Overall, parental educational attainment was positively associated with math ability (test score). We observed a statistically significant interaction between ethnicity (Asian American) and parental education attainment on the results of math test scores, indicating that the boosting effect of high parental educational attainment on youth math function is smaller for Asian-American youth than for Non-Hispanic White youth. While high parental educational attainment contributes to youth educational outcomes, this association is weaker for Asian-American youth than non-Hispanic White youth. Diminished returns (weaker effects of parental education in generating outcomes for ethnic minorities) that are previously shown for Hispanics and Blacks also apply to Asian Americans.

Parental educational attainment and relatives' substance use of American youth: Hispanics Diminished Returns

OBJECTIVES

Research on Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) has shown higher than expected substance use (tobacco and alcohol use) in middle-class Hispanic and Black youth and adults. In theory, some of this more than expected risk might be due to the high substance use problem of the social network. To better understand the role of social network as an explanatory mechanism behind higher than expected substance use of middle-class Hispanic and Black youth, this study tested MDRs of parental educational attainment on substance use involvement of biological relatives in Hispanic and Black middle-class youth, we compared ethnic groups for effects of parental educational attainment on the substance use involvement of biological relatives among American youth.

METHODS

Current longitudinal study used waves 1 and wave 4 data of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health- Adolescents (PATH; 2013-2018) study. The sample included 4264 nationally representative American youth who were followed for 4 years. The independent variable was parental educational attainment. The dependent variable was substance use involvement of biological relatives. Age, gender, and marital status of the family were the covariates. Ethnicity was the moderator. Linear regression was used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Parental educational attainment was inversely associated with substance use involvement of biological relatives in the pooled sample (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.13 -1.63 for high school graduation and OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.53- 0.80 for college graduation). Hispanic ethnicity showed statistically significant interactions with parental educational attainment (OR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.49 -3.44 for high school graduation and OR = 2.98, 95% CI =1.80 - 4.93 for college graduation), suggesting that the protective effect of parental educational attainment against substance use involvement of biological relatives is smaller for Hispanic youth than for non-Hispanic youth.

CONCLUSIONS

While high parental educational attainment reduces substance use involvement of biological relatives, this protective effect is weaker for Hispanic than non-Hispanic youth. That means, substance use involvement of biological relatives is still high in middle-class Hispanic youth, which increases their risk of substance use. Future research should explore societal and contextual factors that cayuse MDRs of parental educational attainment on substance use of middle-class Hispanic families.

Association of Educational Attainment and Race/Ethnicity With Exposure to Tobacco Advertisement Among US Young Adults

Importance

Associations of educational attainment with improved health outcomes have been found to be weaker among racial/ethnic minority groups compared with those among the racial/ethnic majority group. Recent research has also documented higher than expected prevalence of smoking in highly educated African American and Hispanic adults.

Objective

To compare the association of educational attainment with exposure to tobacco advertisements among racial/ethnic groups of US young adults.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study included data from 6700 young adults who participated in wave 1 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, a nationally representative survey of US adults in 2013. Educational attainment was classified as less than high school diploma, high school graduate, or college graduate. Analysis was conducted between September 20 and October 4, 2019.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The independent variable was educational attainment (less than high school diploma, high school graduate, and college graduate). The dependent variable was any exposure to tobacco advertisements in the past 12 months. Race/ethnicity, age, sex, poverty status, unemployment, and region were the covariates. Binary logistic and Poisson regression were used to analyze the data.

Results

The study included 6700 participants (3366 [50.2%] men) between ages 18 and 24 years. Most participants were non-Hispanic (5257 participants [78.9%]) and white (5394 participants [80.5%]), while 1443 participants (21.5%) were Hispanic. Educational levels included 1167 participants (17.4%) with less than a high school diploma, 4812 participants (71.8%) who were high school graduates, and 4812 participants (10.8%) who were college graduates. A total of 4728 participants (70.6%) reported exposure to tobacco advertisements in the past 12 months. Exposure to tobacco advertising was reported by 383 participants (53.1%) who were college graduates, 3453 participants (71.8%) who were high school graduates, and 892 participants (76.4%) with less than high school educational attainment. In regression analysis, high school graduation (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.68-0.92) and college graduation (odds ratio, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.39-0.54) were associated with lower odds of exposure to tobacco advertisements compared with young adults with lower educational attainment. Compared with non-Hispanic participants, high school education had a weaker protective association for tobacco advertisement exposure among Hispanic participants (odds ratio, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.03-2.01; P = .03), suggesting that the association of high school graduation with lower exposure to tobacco advertisement is weaker among Hispanic young adults than non-Hispanic young adults.

Conclusions and Relevance

This study found that high school graduation had a weaker inverse association with tobacco advertisement exposure among Hispanic than non-Hispanic young adults. Future research should explore the role of targeted marketing strategies of the tobacco industry that largely advertise tobacco in areas with high concentrations of racial/ethnic minority groups. Future research should also evaluate the efficacy of more restrictive marketing policies on racial/ethnic disparities in tobacco use.

Parental Education and Nucleus Accumbens Response to Reward Anticipation: Minorities' Diminished Returns

Background

Considerable research has documented the effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on reward-seeking behaviors; however, less is known about the multiplicative effects of race and family SES on brain response to reward anticipation. Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs) suggest that family SES would show weaker effects on brain development of children in non-White families than in White families.

Objective

To test race by SES variation in Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) response to reward anticipation (NAcc-RA) among American children.

Methods

For this cross-sectional analysis, data came from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study which included 6,419, 9-10 year old children. The independent variable was parental education. The moderator was race. The primary outcome was the right NAcc-RA. Age, sex, ethnicity, household income, and family structure were the covariates. We used mixed effects regression models that adjusted for the nested nature of the ABCD data.

Results

While high parental education was associated with a higher amount of right NAcc-RA, this effect was stronger for White than non-White children. This finding was evident in the observed interactions between race and parental education on the right NAcc-RA.

Discussion

For American children, NAcc-RA is not shaped by race or family SES, but by their intersection. As a result of the interaction between race and SES (diminished return of SES for non-Whites), middle-class racial minority children may remain susceptible to high-risk behaviors. Disparities in high-risk behaviors in children should not be reduced to economic disparities. Structural inequalities may reduce the return of SES resources for non-White families.

Diminished Protective Effects of Household Income on Internalizing Symptoms among African American than European American Pre-Adolescents

AIM

To investigate the differential role of race on the effect of household income on pre-adolescents' internalizing symptoms in a national sample of U.S. pre-adolescents.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study that used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Wave 1 ABCD data included 5,913 adolescents between ages 9 and 10 years old. The independent variable was household income. The primary outcome was internalizing symptoms measured by the teacher report of the Brief Problem Monitor (BPM) scale.

RESULTS

Overall, high household income was associated with lower levels of pre-adolescents internalizing symptoms. Race showed statistically significant interaction with household income on pre-adolescents' internalizing symptoms, controlling for all confounders, indicating weaker protective effect of high household income on internalizing symptoms for African American than European pre-adolescents.

CONCLUSION

High household income is a more salient protective factor against internalizing symptoms of socially privileged European American pre-adolescents than of historically marginalized African Americans pre-adolescents. Elimination of internalizing behavioral gaps across racial groups requires more than equalizing socioeconomic status. Future research should study the moderating role of institutional and structural racism experienced by African American families across all income levels. Such research may explain why pre-adolescent African Americans with high household income remain at high risk of internalizing symptoms.

Blacks' Diminished Health Returns of Educational Attainment: Health and Retirement Study

BACKGROUND

Education level reduces the risk of health problems such as poor self-rated health (SRH), high body mass index (BMI), and depressive symptoms (DS). Marginalization - related Diminished Returns (MDRs), however, refer to smaller health benefits of socioeconomic status (SES) indicators particularly educational attainment for the members of racial minority groups such as non-Hispanic Blacks compared to the majority group (non-Hispanic Whites). It is not known, however, if MDRs also hold for middle-age and older adults over a long period of time.

AIMS

The current study used a nationally representative data set to explore racial variation in the predictive utility of baseline education level on protecting people against poor SRH, BMI, and DS.

METHODS

Data for this analysis were borrowed from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS 1992-ongoing), a nationally representative longitudinal study that followed 10,023 middle-aged and older adults (50+ years old) for up to 26 years. From this number, 1877 (18.7%) were non-Hispanic Black Americans, and 8,146 (81.3%) were non-Hispanic White Americans. Education level was the independent variable. We used cluster analysis to categorize individuals to low and high-risk groups (outcome) based on SRH, BMI, and DS over 26 years. Age and gender were the covariates. Race was the moderator.

RESULTS

Overall, high education level reduced the odds of poor SRH, BMI, and DS over the 26 years of follow up. Interactions were observed between race and education on all three health outcomes indicating smaller protective effects of baseline educational attainment on poor health over time, regardless of the outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

In line with the MDRs, highly educated non-Hispanic Black Americans remain at high risk for poor health across domains, a risk which is unexpected given their education. The risk of all health outcomes, however, is lowest for non-Hispanic White Americans with highest education. Policies that exclusively focus on equalizing racial gaps in SES (e.g., education) may fail to eliminate the racial and ethnic health inequalities because of the racial inequalities in the marginal health return of education. Public policies must equalize education quality and address structural and environmental barriers that are disproportionately more common in the lives of non-Hispanic Black Americans, even at high education levels. Future research should test how contextual factors, segregation, labor market practices, childhood poverty, and education quality reduces the health return of education for highly educated non-Hispanic Black Americans.

Prefrontal Cortex Response to Threat: Race by Age Variation in 9-10 Year Old Children

BACKGROUND

Considerable research has suggested that race and age are two major determinants of brain development, including but not limited to development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs), however, suggests that race (as a proxy of racism) may interact with various determinants of human and brain development. Minimal knowledge, however, exists on whether age and race also interact on shaping PFC response to threat among American children.

PURPOSE

Using data from a task-based functional brain imaging study and considering race as a sociological rather than a biological construct, we investigated combined effects of race and age on prefrontal cortical (PFC) response to threat. We explored racial heterogeneities in the association between age and PFC response to threat by comparing Black and White children.

METHODS

This study used the task-based functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data from the Adolescents Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a national, landmark, multi-center brain imaging investigation of 9-10 years old children in the US. The primary outcomes were mean beta weights of n-back runs measuring PFC response to threating versus neutral face contrast in the following regions of interest (ROIs): left hemisphere-lateral orbito-frontal, left hemisphere -superior-frontal, right hemisphere -caudal middle frontal, and right hemisphere -superior frontal cortex. The independent variable was age. Covariates were sex, ethnicity, family socioeconomic status, and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Race was the focal moderator. To analyze the data, we used linear regression models without and with interactions and SES as covariates.

RESULTS

We included 5,066 9-10 years old children. Age and race did not show direct effects on PFC response to threatening relative to neutral faces. While ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic status were controlled, age and race showed a systematic interaction on PFC response to threatening relative to neutral faces.

CONCLUSIONS

For American children, race and age do not have direct effects but multiplicative effects on PFC response to threat. The results may be reflective of social inequalities in how Black and White children are socialized and developed. The results are important given the role of the PFC in regulating the limbic system response to threat. Coordinated work of the limbic system and PFC is a core element of children's behavioral and emotional development. Future research is needed on how social stratification and racism shape emotion processing and regulation of American children in response to threat.