Racial Non-equivalence of Socioeconomic Status and Self-rated Health among African Americans and Whites

Bell, Caryn N.; Sacks, Tina K.; Tobin, Courtney S. Thomas; Thorpe, Roland J.

doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100561

Cited by 87 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…There are two approaches that researchers have taken to study the joint effects of family SES and race on adolescents' outcomes. The first approach, a more traditional one, has tried to explain the racial gap in adolescents' outcomes by a lower family SES of racial minority families such as NHBs [52][53][54][55]. In this view, family SES mediates (explains) the effects of race on adolescents' outcomes [56][57][58].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2020

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2020

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“…MDRs within families contribute to the trans-generational transmission of inequalities from one to another generation. The current paper suggests that disproportionately high risk of exposure to childhood trauma may explain why NHB children [40,43,69,70] and adults [30,31,[71][72][73] still develop poor behavioral, physical, and mental health outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Family Socioeconomic Status and Exposure to Childhood Trauma: Racial Differences

Assari

2020

Children

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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.

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“…There are at least two complementary theories that provide an explanation for how race and parental education jointly impact adolescents' outcomes. The first theory, dominant in the literature, and more commonly used as an explanation of the inequalities, attributes the observed racial gap in adolescents' outcomes to the observed differences in parental education and other family SES indicators across racial groups [36,[48][49][50]. In a statistical term, this theory conceptualizes parental education as the mediator (why) for racial differences in adolescents' outcomes [51][52][53].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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(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.

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Racial Non-equivalence of Socioeconomic Status and Self-rated Health among African Americans and Whites

Cited by 87 publications

References 75 publications

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

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

Family Socioeconomic Status and Exposure to Childhood Trauma: Racial Differences

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

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