School of Social and Family Dynamics, 7864Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
School of Social and Family Dynamics, 7864Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Psychol Rep. 2022 Feb;125(1):55-97. doi: 10.1177/0033294120984127. Epub 2020 Dec 24.
Meta-analyses on the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and performance on measures of cognitive ability and achievement arrive at the same general conclusion of a small to medium association. Advancements in methods make possible for meta-analyses to examine specific pathways linking SES to cognitive ability and achievement, as well as the moderators of these pathways. In this study, we conducted a systematic overview of meta-analyses on SES to address three research questions: 1) what is the direction and overall strength of association between SES and performance on measures of cognitive ability and achievement, and how precise are the effect sizes reported? 2) to what extent have meta-analyses examined moderation by components of SES, age, sex, and race/ethnicity? and 3) to what extent have meta-analyses examined mechanisms linking SES to cognitive ability and achievement? We conducted a systematic search using online archives (i.e., PsycINFO, ERIC, PubMed, Sociological Abstracts, and Web of Science), searching issues in and and examining references and citations. We identified 14 meta-analyses published between 1982 and 2019. These meta-analyses consistently reported positive associations of small to medium magnitude, indicating that SES is a meaningful contributor to the development of cognitive ability and achievement. Fewer meta-analyses reported evidence of moderation by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. None of the meta-analyses directly examined mechanisms, but provided evidence of possible mechanisms for future research. We suggest that meta-analyses can increase their contribution to future research, interventions, and policy by narrowing their focus on specific pathways.
元分析研究社会经济地位（SES）与认知能力和成就衡量标准之间的关系，得出的结论大致相同，即 SES 与认知能力和成就之间存在小到中等程度的关联。方法的进步使得元分析能够检验 SES 与认知能力和成就之间的具体关联途径，以及这些途径的调节因素。在这项研究中，我们对 SES 的元分析进行了系统综述，以回答三个研究问题：1）SES 与认知能力和成就衡量标准之间的关联方向和总体强度如何，报告的效应大小有多精确？2）元分析在多大程度上检验了 SES 成分、年龄、性别和种族/民族的调节作用？3）元分析在多大程度上检验了 SES 与认知能力和成就之间的关联机制？我们使用在线档案（即 PsycINFO、ERIC、PubMed、Sociological Abstracts 和 Web of Science）进行了系统搜索，搜索了 和 中的问题，并检查了参考文献和引文。我们确定了 1982 年至 2019 年间发表的 14 项元分析。这些元分析一致报告了小到中等程度的正相关，表明 SES 是认知能力和成就发展的一个有意义的贡献因素。较少的元分析报告了年龄、性别和种族/民族的调节作用的证据。没有一项元分析直接检验机制，但为未来研究提供了可能的机制证据。我们建议，元分析可以通过缩小对特定途径的关注，增加对未来研究、干预措施和政策的贡献。
