Emerging psychopathology moderates upward social mobility: The intergenerational (dis)continuity of socioeconomic status

Abstract

Socioeconomic status (SES) is relatively stable across generations, but social policies may create opportunities for upward social mobility among disadvantaged populations during periods of economic growth. With respect to expanded educational opportunities that occurred in Québec (Canada) during the 1960s, we hypothesized that children's social and academic competence would promote upward mobility, whereas aggression and social withdrawal would have the opposite effect. Out of 4,109 children attending low-SES schools in 1976-1978, a representative subsample of 503 participants were followed until midadulthood. Path analyses revealed that parents' SES predicted offspring's SES through associations with offspring's likeability, academic competence, and educational attainment. Interaction effects revealed individual risk factors that moderated children's ability to take advantage of intrafamilial or extrafamilial opportunities that could enhance their educational attainment. Highly aggressive participants and those presenting low academic achievement were unable to gain advantage from having highly educated parents. They reached lower educational attainment than their less aggressive or higher achieving peers who came from a similarly advantaged family background. Growing up with parents occupying low-prestige jobs put withdrawn boys and outgoing girls at risk for low educational attainment. In conclusion, social policies can raise SES across generations, with great benefits for the most disadvantaged segments of the population. However, children presenting with emerging psychopathology or academic weaknesses do not benefit from these policies as much as others, and should receive additional, targeted services.

Predicting psychosis-spectrum diagnoses in adulthood from social behaviors and neighborhood contexts in childhood

“…Participant demographics and neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics are presented in Table 1. Educational levels and socioeconomic status for both generations were significantly below Québec and Canadian averages (Véronneau et al, 2015).…”

“…These trajectories of improvement were not equally the case for all, however. Some families lived in more advantaged neighborhoods than others in 1976, and the fortunes of some families improved less than that of others over the subsequent 30 years (Véronneau, Serbin, Stack, Ledingham, & Schwartzman, 2015). In the present study, we were able to examine the extent to which adult psychiatric diagnoses were associated with childhood experiences of neighborhood socioecological disadvantage, as well as stability of or change in neighborhood disadvantage from childhood to adulthood in a large sample of individuals for whom social behavior was assessed in middle childhood to preadolescence.…”

How Do Individual Predispositions and Family Dynamics Contribute to Academic Adjustment Through the Middle School Years? The Mediating Role of Friends’ Characteristics

“…Adolescents who do well academically are likely to attain a higher educational level, which in turn leads to a better financial situation and higher income than for their counterparts who do not succeed in their studies (Day & Newburger, 2002;Johnson, Brett, & Deary, 2010). This effect can last through generations, as high-achieving adolescents who attained good socioeconomic conditions later on are able to provide better education and other resources for their children, which impacts the latter's own academic achievement (Day & Newburger, 2002;Johnson, Brett, & Deary, 2010;Véronneau, Serbin, Stack, Ledingham, & Schwartzman, 2015).…”

The influential child: How children affect their environment and influence their own risk and resilience

“…Additional contributions examine emerging psychopathology as the moderating variable. Véronneau, Serbin, Stack, Ledingham, and Schwartzman (2015) show interactions between parents’ socioeconomic status and child adjustment problems on children's subsequent educational attainment, illustrating how emergent psychopathology prevents children from benefitting from the mobility opportunities provided by their parents. The study by Conger et al (2015) likewise includes an interactive effect, with adolescent aggression as a moderator, illustrating how it can intensify intergenerational continuity in hostility toward a romantic partner.…”