Assari Shervin, Zare Hossein
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Open J Neurosci. 2024;2(1):25-34. doi: 10.31586/ojn.2024.1129. Epub 2024 Nov 21.
Previous research shows that socioeconomic status (SES) positively impacts children's development, yet the benefits are not equally distributed across racial groups. According to the Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) framework, Black children tend to experience smaller gains from parental education compared to White children.
Building on the MDRs framework, this study examines whether high financial strain contributes to the diminished returns of parental education for Black children, using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. We hypothesized that: (1) there would be a positive effect of parental education on total cortical volume, (2) this effect would be weaker for Black than White children, and (3) higher household financial strain in Black families would mediate the diminished returns of parental education on total cortical volume for Black children.
Data were drawn from the baseline ABCD Study, focusing on 7,936 9- and 10-year-old children identified as either Black (n = 1,775) or White (n = 6,161). Parental education was the key independent variable, covariates included age, sex, household income, and marital status, race was the moderator, financial strain was the mediator, and total cortical volume was the outcome. Structural Equation Models (SEMs) were employed to examine the associations between parental education and cortical volume, with financial strain as a mediator and race as a moderator.
Higher parental education was associated with greater cortical volume in the pooled sample. However, this effect was significantly weaker for Black children. Financial strain partially mediated the observed diminished returns of parental education.
High financial strain experienced by middle-class Black families partially explains why the association between parental education and child development is weaker in Black than White families. Interventions aimed at enhancing educational quality, increasing employability, expanding access to higher-paying jobs, and reducing labor market discrimination against Black individuals may help address racial inequities in child development in the U.S. Efforts to reduce financial strain should extend beyond low-income populations to also support higher-educated minority families.
先前的研究表明，社会经济地位（SES）对儿童发展有积极影响，但这些益处并未在不同种族群体中平均分配。根据少数群体收益递减（MDRs）框架，与白人儿童相比，黑人儿童从父母教育中获得的收益往往较小。
基于MDRs框架，本研究利用青少年大脑认知发展（ABCD）研究的数据，检验高经济压力是否导致黑人儿童父母教育的收益递减。我们假设：（1）父母教育对总皮质体积有积极影响；（2）黑人儿童的这种影响比白人儿童弱；（3）黑人家庭中较高的家庭经济压力将介导父母教育对黑人儿童总皮质体积的收益递减。
数据取自ABCD研究基线，重点关注7936名9岁和10岁的儿童，他们被确定为黑人（n = 1775）或白人（n = 6161）。父母教育是关键自变量，协变量包括年龄、性别、家庭收入和婚姻状况，种族是调节变量，经济压力是中介变量，总皮质体积是结果变量。采用结构方程模型（SEM）来检验父母教育与皮质体积之间的关联，以经济压力作为中介变量，种族作为调节变量。
在汇总样本中，较高的父母教育与更大的皮质体积相关。然而，这种影响在黑人儿童中明显较弱。经济压力部分介导了观察到的父母教育收益递减。
中产阶级黑人家庭所经历的高经济压力部分解释了为什么黑人家庭中父母教育与儿童发展之间的关联比白人家庭弱。旨在提高教育质量、增加就业能力、扩大获得高薪工作的机会以及减少劳动力市场对黑人的歧视的干预措施，可能有助于解决美国儿童发展中的种族不平等问题。减轻经济压力的努力应不仅限于低收入人群，还应支持受过高等教育的少数族裔家庭。
