Understanding America: Unequal Economic Returns of Years of Schooling in Whites and Blacks Race, Years of Schooling, and Economic Wellbeing

Assari, Shervin

doi:10.22158/wjer.v7n2p78

Cited by 21 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 76 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…According to the MDRs framework [ 13 , 14 ], SES indicators, such as family income, show weaker effects on the behavior and health of black [ 15 ], Hispanic [ 12 , 16 ], Asian American [ 17 ], Native American [ 18 ], and even marginalized white [ 19 ] families. In this view, racial and ethnic minority groups face additional difficulties; mistreatment and injustice will stay a risk despite a high SES.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

American Children’s Screen Time: Diminished Returns of Household Income in Black Families

Assari

2020

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While increased household income is associated with overall decreased screen time for children, less is known about the effect of racial variation on this association. According to Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) theory, family income and other economic resources show weaker association with children’s developmental, behavioral, and health outcomes for racialized groups such as black families, due to the effect of racism and social stratification. In this study, we investigated the association, by race, between family income and children’s screen time, as a proxy of screen time. This longitudinal study followed 15,022 American children aged 9–11 over a 1-year period. The data came from the baseline of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The independent variable was family income, and it was categorized as a three-level nominal variable. The dependent variable, screen time, was a continuous variable. Ethnicity, gender, parental education, and marital status were the covariates. The results showed that family income was inversely associated with children’s screen time. However, there was a weaker inverse association seen in black families when compared with white families. This was documented by a significant statistical interaction between race and family income on children’s screen time. Diminished association between family income and children’s screen time for black families, compared with white families, is similar to MDRs and reflects a health risk to high-income black children. In a society where race and skin color determine opportunities and treatment by society, children from middle class black families remain at risk across multiple domains. We should not assume that income similarly promotes the health of all racial and ethnic groups. Addressing health and behavioral inequalities requires interventions that go beyond equalizing socioeconomic resources for black families. Marginalization, racism, and poverty interfere with the normal family income-related development of American children.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

American Children’s Screen Time: Diminished Returns of Household Income in Black Families

Assari

2020

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“…At the same time, due to multiple Jeopardy hypothesis, we expect the same risk factor to have a more significant detrimental effect on the mental health of Blacks than Whites, simply because Blacks are already exposed to a wide range of social stressors, so they have become more vulnerable to the very same risk factors [ 12 ]. Finally, based on minorities’ diminished returns (MDRs) theory [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], we would expect family-level risk and protective factors to show diminished associations with mental health outcomes for Black than White communities. This is in part because, for Blacks, structural racism, social stratification, and other higher-level adversities may reduce the degree by which a risk factor or a protective factor translates to outcome [ 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Race, Family Conflict and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among 9–10-Year-Old American Children

Assari

Boyce

Bazargan

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Family conflict is known to operate as a major risk factor for children’s suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs). However, it is unknown whether this effect is similar or different in Black and White children. Objectives: We compared Black and White children for the association between family conflict and STBs in a national sample of 9–10-year-old American children. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. This study included 9918 White or Black children between the ages of 9 and 10 living in married households. The predictor variable was family conflict. Race was the moderator. The outcome variable was STBs, treated as a count variable, reflecting positive STB items that were endorsed. Covariates included ethnicity, sex, age, immigration status, family structure, parental education, and parental employment, and household income. Poisson regression was used for data analysis. Results: Of all participants, 7751 were Whites, and 2167 were Blacks. In the pooled sample and in the absence of interaction terms, high family conflict was associated with higher STBs. A statistically significant association was found between Black race and family conflict, suggesting that the association between family conflict and STBs is stronger in Black than White children. Conclusion: The association between family conflict and STBs is stronger in Black than White children. Black children with family conflict may be at a higher risk of STBs than White children with the same family conflict level. These findings align with the literature on the more significant salience of social relations as determinants of mental health of Black than White people. Reducing family conflict should be regarded a significant element of suicide prevention for Black children in the US.

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“…There is at least some evidence that suggests that the SES gradient in childhood BMI may be weaker in AIAN/NHPI populations than the SES effects in NHW families. This is based on the observations that SES effects on obesity (Assari, Chalian, & Bazargan, 2019;Assari, Thomas, Caldwell, & Mincy, 2018), exercise (Assari, 2019), and diet are weaker in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Black families than in NHW families, a pattern called Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) (Assari, 2017;Shervin Assari, 2018;S. Assari, 2020e).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Assari, 2020e). Such MDRs suggest that SES effects tend to be weaker for any non-White group than for their NHW counterparts (Assari, 2017;Assari, 2018;Assari, 2020e). Exhibiting a wide range of behaviors and health outcomes that are well beyond BMI (Assari, 2020dAssari, Caldwell, & Zimmerman, 2018), MDRs are attributed to structural racism, segregation, and discrimination (Assari, 2018a;Assari & Moghani Lankarani, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exhibiting a wide range of behaviors and health outcomes that are well beyond BMI (Assari, 2020dAssari, Caldwell, & Zimmerman, 2018), MDRs are attributed to structural racism, segregation, and discrimination (Assari, 2018a;Assari & Moghani Lankarani, 2018). For example, it has been shown that non-White people with high SES may remain in poor high-risk neighborhoods , generate less income (Assari, 2020e;Assari, Preiser, & Kelly, 2018) and wealth (S. Assari, 2020a), experience high levels of discrimination (Assari, F. X. Gibbons, & R. Simons, 2018;Assari, F. X. Gibbons, & R. L. Simons, 2018) and stress (Assari & Bazargan, 2019c), have higher-risk peers and family members , live in high-risk context (Boyce, Bazargan, Caldwell, Zimmerman, & Assari, 2020) and lack access to medical care (Assari, 2020d) and use of healthcare services (Assari & Bazargan, 2019a).…”

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confidence: 99%

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American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Children’s Body Mass Index: Diminished Returns of Parental Education and Family Income

Assari¹

2020

RHS

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Background: High socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with several health-related outcomes, such as obesity and body mass index (BMI). However, we do not know whether SES is associated differently with children’s BMI from American Indian and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AIAN/NHPI) families when compared to non-Hispanic White (NHW) families. Aim: To compare AIAN/NHPI and NHW families for associations between parental education, family income, and children’s BMI in the United States (U.S). Methods: This cross-sectional study used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Participants (n = 8580) included 63 AIAN/NHPI and 8517 NHW children between ages 9 and 10. The independent variables were parental education and family income. The primary outcome was BMI. Race was the moderator. Age, sex, and family structure were covariates. Mixed-effects regression models were used for data analysis. Results: In the pooled sample, higher parental education and family income were associated with lower children’s BMI. We found interactions between race and parental education and family income indicating weaker associations between parental education and family income and children’s BMI in AIAN/NHPI families than in NHW families. Conclusion: The salience of parental education and family income as social determinants of children’s BMI is diminished for AIAN/NHPI families than NHW families. As a result, AIAN/NHPIs children with high SES remain at risk for high BMI, while high-SES NHW children show the lowest BMI. Future research should test if obesogenic environments, food options, and physical activity-friendly neighborhoods can explain higher-than-expected BMI in high-SES AIAN/NHPI children. In other terms, more research is needed to understand if residential segregation, discrimination, and historical trauma explain the observed differences in the social patterning of childhood BMI in AIAN/NHPI and NHW communities.

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Understanding America: Unequal Economic Returns of Years of Schooling in Whites and Blacks Race, Years of Schooling, and Economic Wellbeing

Cited by 21 publications

References 76 publications

American Children’s Screen Time: Diminished Returns of Household Income in Black Families

American Children’s Screen Time: Diminished Returns of Household Income in Black Families

Race, Family Conflict and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among 9–10-Year-Old American Children

American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Children’s Body Mass Index: Diminished Returns of Parental Education and Family Income

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