Bilingual advantages in executive functioning: Evidence from a low-income sample

Recent research suggests that bilinguals might exhibit advantages in several areas of executive function, including working memory, inhibitory control, and attentional control. However, few studies have examined potential bilingual advantages within lower socioeconomic status (SES) populations. Here we addressed this gap in the literature by investigating whether low-SES Spanish–English bilingual preschoolers exhibited advantages in executive function relative to two monolingual control groups (English, Spanish). Across three experiments, bilingual children exhibited superior performance on two different measures of visual–spatial memory, as well as measures of inhibitory and attentional control. These results suggest that bilinguals exhibit broad advantages in executive function during the preschool years, and these advantages are evident within a disadvantaged, low-SES population.

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A Pilot Study of Neurocognitive Function and Brain Structures in Adolescents With Alcohol Use Disorders: Does Maltreatment History Matter?

Child Maltreatment ◽

10.1177/1077559518810525 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 374-388 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Michael D. De Bellis ◽

Rajendra A. Morey ◽

Kate B. Nooner ◽

Donald P. Woolley ◽

Courtney C. Haswell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Alcohol Use Disorders ◽

Inverse Correlation ◽

Fine Motor ◽

Control Groups ◽

Lower Performance ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

And Control

Neurocognitive and brain structural differences are associated with adolescent onset alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Maltreatment histories may contribute to current results. To examine these issues, healthy adolescents ( n = 31), adolescents without maltreatment and AUD (AUD − MAL, n = 28), and adolescents with AUDs with maltreatment (AUD + MAL, n = 17) underwent comprehensive neurocognitive assessments and MRI structural scans. Controls performed significantly better than the two AUD groups in math and language. The AUD + MAL group performed significantly lower in sustained attention compared to the AUD − MAL and control groups and lower in reading compared to controls. The AUD + MAL group had larger left pars triangularis, a region of the inferior frontal gyrus, compared to the AUD-MAL and control groups, and smaller anterior corpus callosum volumes versus the AUD − MAL group. There were no group differences in other prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal volumes. The AUD + MAL group showed an inverse correlation between hippocampal volumes and age. AUD variables were associated with lower performance in fine-motor and executive function. Cannabis use variables were associated with lower performance in fine-motor, language, visual-spatial, memory, and executive function. Parahippocampal volumes positively correlated with abstinence. The preliminary results suggest adolescent AUD studies should consider examinations of maltreatment history, comorbid substance use disorders, and recovery during abstinence in their analyses.

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Higher SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Workers with Lower Socioeconomic Status in Cape Town, South Africa.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-136543/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jane Alexandra Shaw ◽

Maynard Meiring ◽

Tracy Cummins ◽

Novel Chegou ◽

Conita Claassen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Low Income ◽

Cape Town ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Serum Samples ◽

High Background ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Antibody Positivity ◽

High Degree

Abstract Background: South Africa has a high degree of inequality between population groups. The first wave of COVID-19 may have affected people in lower socioeconomic groups worse than the affluent. The SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and the specificity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests in South Africa is not known. Methods: We tested 405 volunteers representing all socioeconomic strata from the workforce of a popular shopping and tourist complex in central Cape Town with the Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay. We assessed the association between antibody positivity and COVID-19 symptom status, medical history, and sociodemographic variables. We tested 137 serum samples from healthy controls collected in Cape Town prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, to confirm the specificity of the assay in the local population.Results: Of the 405 volunteers tested one month after the first peak of the epidemic in Cape Town, 96(23.7%) were SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive. Of those who tested positive, 46(47.9%) reported no symptoms of COVID-19 in the previous 6 months. Seropositivity was significantly associated with living in informal housing, residing in a subdistrict with low income-per household, and having a low-earning occupation. The specificity of the assay was 98.54%(95%CI 94.82%-99.82%) in the pre-COVID controls.Conclusions: There is a high background seroprevalence in Cape Town, particularly in people of lower socioeconomic status. Half of cases are asymptomatic, and therefore undiagnosed by local testing strategies. These results cannot be explained by low assay specificity.

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Association between socioeconomic status and fertility among adolescents aged 15 to 19: An analysis of the 2013/2014 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS)

10.21203/rs.2.22655/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Margarate Nzala Munakampe ◽

Isaac Fwemba ◽

Joseph Mumba Zulu ◽

Charles Michelo

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Reproductive Health ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Low Income ◽

Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽

Early Marriage ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Wealth Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Adolescent Fertility

Abstract Background: Adolescents face significant barriers to access and utilization of sexual and reproductive health services in many low-income settings which in turn may be associated with adverse consequences such as early pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and unsafe abortion and mortality. There is evidence suggesting that limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services among adolescents contribute to these outcomes. We aimed to find out the factors that affect the fertility of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years in Zambia and to identify possible drivers of adolescents’ fertility. Methods: Secondary analysis of the ZDHS 2013/14 data was carried out to find out the factors that affect the fertility rate of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years using multivariate logistic regression (n=3,666).Results: Overall, 23.1 % of adolescents had given birth at least once in the five years leading to the survey (n= 3,666, 99.4% response), and 49.8 % were rural-based while 50.2% were urban-based. The median number of schooling was 8 years (IQR= 6-10). About 52% of the adolescents were in the poorer, poor and medium wealth quintiles while the other 48% were in the rich and richer quintiles. Factors found to affect fertility include residence, wealth status, educational attainment, marriage and abortion. An urban-based adolescent with a lower socioeconomic status was 2.4 times more likely to give birth compared to rural-based poorer adolescents (95% CI 1.5, 3.7 p<0.001). Although odds of giving birth were much higher among rural married adolescents (aOR 8.0, 95% CI 5.4, 11.9 p<0.001) compared to urban married adolescents (aOR 5.5, 95%CI 8.3, 16.0, p<0.001), and these relationship both statistically significant, higher educational attainment (aOR 0.7 95% CI 0.6, 0.8 p<0.001) and abortion (aOR 0.3 95% CI 0.1, 0.8 p=0.020) reduced these odds, particularly for rural-based adolescents. Conclusion: Despite response aimed at reducing adolescent fertility, low wealth status, low educational attainment and early marriage remain significant drivers of adolescent fertility in Zambia. There is a need to address access to sexual and reproductive health needs of urban adolescents with a lower socioeconomic status.

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Association between socioeconomic status and fertility among adolescents aged 15 to 19: an analysis of the 2013/2014 Zambia Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS)

Reproductive Health ◽

10.1186/s12978-021-01230-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Margarate Nzala Munakampe ◽

Isaac Fwemba ◽

Joseph Mumba Zulu ◽

Charles Michelo

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Reproductive Health ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Low Income ◽

Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽

Early Marriage ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Wealth Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Adolescent Fertility

Abstract Background Adolescents face significant barriers to access and utilization of sexual and reproductive health services in many low-income settings, which in turn may be associated with adverse consequences such as early pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, unsafe abortion and mortality. There is evidence suggesting that limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services among adolescents contributes to these outcomes. We aimed to find out the factors that affect the fertility of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years in Zambia and to identify possible drivers of adolescents’ fertility. Methods Secondary analysis of the ZDHS 2013/14 data was carried out to find out the factors that affect the fertility rate of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years using multivariate logistic regression (n = 3666). Results Overall, 23.1% of adolescents had given birth at least once in the 5 years leading to the survey (n = 3666, 99.4% response), and 49.8% were rural-based while 50.2% were urban-based. The median number of schooling was 8 years (IQR 6–10). About 52% of the adolescents were in the poorer, poor and medium wealth quintiles while the other 48% were in the rich and richer quintiles. Factors found to affect fertility include residence, wealth status, educational attainment, marriage and abortion. An urban-based adolescent with a lower socioeconomic status was 2.4 times more likely to give birth compared to rural-based poorer adolescents (aOR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.5, 3.7, p < 0.001). Although odds of giving birth were much higher among rural-based married adolescents (aOR = 8.0, 95% CI: 5.4, 11.9, p < 0.001) compared to urban married adolescents (aOR = 5.5, 95% CI: 8.3, 16.0, p < 0.001), and these relationships both statistically significant, higher educational attainment (aOR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.6, 0.8 p < 0.001) and abortion (aOR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1, 0.8, p = 0.020) reduced these odds, particularly for rural-based adolescents. Conclusion Despite response aimed at reducing adolescent fertility, low wealth status, low educational attainment and early marriage remain significant drivers of adolescent fertility in Zambia. There is a need to address sexual and reproductive health needs of urban-based adolescents with a lower socioeconomic status.

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Inequalities in the Impact of National Reimbursement of Smoking Cessation Pharmacotherapy and the Influence of Injunctive Norms: An Explorative Study

Substance Abuse Research and Treatment ◽

10.4137/sart.s32225 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. SART.S32225

Author(s):

Fiona E. Benson ◽

Gera E. Nagelhout ◽

Vera Nierkens ◽

Marc C. Willemsen ◽

Karien Stronks

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Low Income ◽

Behavioral Therapy ◽

Low Ses ◽

Injunctive Norm ◽

Injunctive Norms ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Continuous Survey ◽

Quit Attempts ◽

The Impact

In 2011, the Dutch government reimbursed smoking cessation pharmacotherapy with behavioral therapy for quitting smokers. We investigate whether inequalities in the use of pharmacotherapy change and, if not, whether this is due to a relatively positive injunctive norm in lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups. A total of 75,415 participants aged ≥15 years from the Dutch Continuous Survey of Smoking Habits, 2009–2012, were considered with the following measures: SES (education/income), injunctive norm (mostly acceptable/neutral/mostly unacceptable), period (2011/all other years), and pharmacotherapy use (yes/no). The proportion of low SES smokers compared with high SES smokers making quit attempts with pharmacotherapy did not differ significantly. The injunctive norm of low SES smokers differed significantly from high SES smokers and nonsmokers of all SES levels. Low income smokers with mostly acceptable injunctive norms were significantly less likely to make quit attempts using pharmacotherapy than those with a neutral or less accepting injunctive norm. The significantly lower use of pharmacotherapy in quit attempts in low income smokers with a positive injunctive norm toward smoking may partly underlie the lack of uptake of reimbursed pharmacotherapy in low SES smokers.

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Neural oscillations reveal differences in the process of word learning among school-aged children from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds

10.31219/osf.io/pk524 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Julie M. Schneider ◽

Alyson D. Abel ◽

Jacob Momsen ◽

Tina C. Melamed ◽

Mandy Maguire

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Academic Success ◽

Word Learning ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Neural Oscillations ◽

Low Ses ◽

Alpha Power ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Beta Power

Building a robust vocabulary in grade school is essential for academic success. Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) households on average perform below their higher SES peers on word learning tasks, negatively impacting their vocabulary; however, significant variability exists within this group. Many children from low SES homes perform as well as, or better than, their higher SES peers on measures of word learning. The current study addresses what processes underlie this variability, by comparing the neural oscillations of 44 better versus worse word learners (ages 8-15 years) from lower SES households as they infer the meaning of unknown words. Better word learners demonstrated increases in theta and beta power as a word was learned, whereas worse word learners exhibited decreases in alpha power. These group differences in neural oscillatory engagement during word learning indicate there may be different strategies employed based on differences in children’s skills. Notably, children with greater vocabulary knowledge are more likely to exhibit larger beta increases; a strategy which is associated with better word learning. This sheds new light on the mechanisms that support word learning in children from low SES households.

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Public Campaign Financing, Candidate Socioeconomic Diversity, and Representational Inequality at the U.S. State Level: Evidence from Connecticut

State Politics & Policy Quarterly ◽

10.1177/1532440018784980 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 296-323

Author(s):

Mitchell Kilborn

Keyword(s):

State Level ◽

Low Ses ◽

Public Financing ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Public Campaign ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Socioeconomic Diversity ◽

Paired Control ◽

State Legislative ◽

Campaign Financing

Conventional wisdom holds that public campaign financing can diversify the socioeconomic makeup of candidate pools and, therefore, of U.S. elected officials, which could make U.S. public policy more responsive to lower socioeconomic status (SES) citizens. I argue that in addition to the absence of a positive relationship between public financing and candidate socioeconomic diversity, public financing, depending on the program design, may, in fact, reduce candidate socioeconomic diversity. Using occupational data on state legislative candidates in public financing state Connecticut and two paired control states to execute a difference in difference analysis, I demonstrate that when public financing is available, fewer low SES candidates run for state legislative office, and those who do run are not more likely to win and are less likely to utilize public financing.

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THE LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (LES) ADVERTISING SCHEMATA REALITY DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT STIMULI ADVERTISING SCHEMATA (MINDSET) OF THE LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (LES) COMMUNITY

Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews ◽

10.18510/hssr.2019.7229 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 254-260

Author(s):

Neesa Ameera ◽

Mohd Nor Shahizan Ali

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Public Housing ◽

Media Literacy ◽

Low Income ◽

Cognitive Model ◽

Digital Environment ◽

Housing Program ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Advertising Literacy

Purpose of Study: This study aims to examine how the reality digital environment stimulate the advertising schemata (mindset) of the LES community in Malaysia. This study also measures the advertising literacy of the LES community based on the two literacy models; cognitive model of media literacy and advertising literacy model in relation to flyposting. Methodology: To represent the low-income distribution, respondents from the Public Housing Program (PHP) were selected. This study used the survey method as a research design by distributing questionnaires which acts as the research instrument for data acquisition from a total of 574 respondents from five areas of Public Housing Program (PHP) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The advertising literacy instrument was used as the main tool to examine the advertising schemata and to measure the advertising literacy in relation to the flyposting phenomena amongst the low-income community. Main findings: The LES community are comprised of highly advertising literate individuals despite having low academic qualifications and low income due to technological factors. This study also identifies the significant relationship between the digital environment and the advertising schemata of the LES community since both aspects reinforce each other in explaining the media issues available in the society today. The LES community are able to access, analyse, evaluate, analyse, and construct their own meaning towards the advertisements available today. Applications of this study: This study is beneficial in contributing to the development of mass media and communication field specifically in the area of advertising literacy. The discussion provided in this study adds on to the debate of the current advertising research and presents consequent implications for the communication and advertising field. Novelty/Originality: This study has successfully developed an advertising literacy instrument based on two literacy models; cognitive model of media literacy and advertising literacy model. All the indicators tested in the instrument have its own strength in determining the advertising literacy level in the context of flyposting. Hence, the findings in this study may be beneficial to and act as a framework or a limitation for other similar studies in future.

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A Pilot Study and Ecological Model of Smoking Cues to Inform Mobile Health Strategies for Quitting Among Low-Income Smokers

Health Promotion Practice ◽

10.1177/1524839920942214 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 152483992094221

Author(s):

Shuo Zhou ◽

Arnold H. Levinson ◽

Xuhong Zhang ◽

Jennifer D. Portz ◽

Susan L. Moore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Low Income ◽

Ecological Model ◽

Environmental Cues ◽

Socioeconomically Disadvantaged ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Smoking Cues ◽

Pros And Cons

One crucial factor that leads to disparities in smoking cessation between groups with higher and lower socioeconomic status is more prevalent socioenvironmental smoking cues in low-income communities. Little is known about how these cues influence socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers in real-world scenarios and how to design interventions, especially mobile phone–based interventions, to counteract the impacts of various types of smoking cues. We interviewed 15 current smokers living in low-income communities and scanned their neighborhoods to explore smoking-related experiences and identify multilevel cues that may trigger them to smoke. Findings suggest four major types of smoking cues influence low-income smokers—internal, habitual, social, and environmental. We propose an ecological model of smoking cues to inform the design of mobile health (mHealth) interventions for smoking cessation. We suggest that user-triggered strategies will be most useful to address internal cues; server-triggered strategies will be most suitable in changing perceived social norms of smoking and routine smoking activities to address social and habitual cues; and context-triggered strategies will be most effective for counteracting environmental cues. The pros and cons of each approach are discussed regarding their cost-effectiveness, the potential to provide personalized assistance, and scale.

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Neural oscillations reveal differences in the process of word learning among school-aged children from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds

Neurobiology of Language ◽

10.1162/nol_a_00040 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-82

Author(s):

J.M. Schneider ◽

A.D. Abel ◽

J. Momsen ◽

T.C. Melamed ◽

M.J. Maguire

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Academic Success ◽

Word Learning ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Neural Oscillations ◽

Low Ses ◽

Alpha Power ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Beta Power

Abstract Building a robust vocabulary in grade school is essential for academic success. Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) households on average perform below their higher SES peers on word learning tasks, negatively impacting their vocabulary; however, significant variability exists within this group. Many children from low SES homes perform as well as, or better than, their higher SES peers on measures of word learning. The current study addresses what processes underlie this variability, by comparing the neural oscillations of 44 better versus worse word learners (ages 8-15 years) from lower SES households as they infer the meaning of unknown words. Better word learners demonstrated increases in theta and beta power as a word was learned, whereas worse word learners exhibited decreases in alpha power. These group differences in neural oscillatory engagement during word learning indicate there may be different strategies employed based on differences in children’s skills. Notably, children with greater vocabulary knowledge are more likely to exhibit larger beta increases; a strategy which is associated with better word learning. This sheds new light on the mechanisms that support word learning in children from low SES households.

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