scholarly journals African American Children’s Diminished Returns of Subjective Family Socioeconomic Status on Fun Seeking

Children ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Golnoush Akhlaghipour ◽  
Shanika Boyce ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan ◽  
Cleopatra H. Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
African American ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
Reward Sensitivity ◽  
Behavioral Approach ◽  
High Risk Behaviors ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fun Seeking ◽  
Family Ses

Background: Reward sensitivity (fun-seeking) is a risk factor for a wide range of high-risk behaviors. While high socioeconomic status (SES) is known to reduce reward sensitivity and associated high-risk behaviors, less is known about the differential effects of SES on reward sensitivity. It is plausible to expect weaker protective effects of family SES on reward sensitivity in racial minorities, a pattern called Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs). Aim: We compared Caucasian and African American (AA) children for the effects of subjective family SES on children’s fun-seeking. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of 7061 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The independent variable was subjective family SES. The main outcome was children’s fun-seeking measured by the behavioral approach system (BAS) and behavioral avoidance system (BIS). Age, gender, marital status, and household size were the covariates. Results: In the overall sample, high subjective family SES was associated with lower levels of fun-seeking. We also found a statistically significant interaction between race and subjective family SES on children’s fun-seeking in the overall sample, suggesting that high subjective family SES is associated with a weaker effect on reducing fun-seeking among AA than Caucasian children. In race-stratified models, high subjective family SES was protective against fun-seeking of Caucasian but not AA children. Conclusion: Subjective family SES reduces the fun-seeking for Caucasian but not AA children.

scholarly journals Not Race or Age but Their Interaction Predicts Pre-Adolescents’ Inhibitory Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. p50
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Golnoush Akhlaghipour MD
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Brain Development ◽  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
African American Adolescents ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
High Risk Behaviors ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range

Background: African American pre-adolescents are at a higher risk of risky behaviors such as aggression, drug use, alcohol use, and subsequent poor outcomes compared to Caucasian pre-adolescents. All these high-risk behaviors are connected to low levels of Inhibitory Control (IC). Aim: We used the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) data to compare Caucasian and African American pre-adolescents for the effect of age on pre-adolescents IC, a driver of high-risk behaviors. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 4,626 pre-adolescents between ages 9 and 10 from the ABCD study. Regression was used to analyze the data. The predictor variable was age measured in months. The main outcome was IC measured by a Stop-Signal Task (SST). Race was the effect modifier. Results: Overall, age was associated with IC. Race also showed a statistically significant interaction with age on pre-adolescents’ IC, indicating weaker effects of age on IC for African American than Caucasian pre-adolescents. Conclusion: Age-related changes in IC are more pronounced for Caucasian than African American pre-adolescents. To eliminate the racial gap in brain development between African American and Caucasian pre-adolescents, we should address structural and societal barriers that alter age-related development for racial minority pre-adolescents. Social and public policies, rather than health policies, are needed to address structural and societal barriers that hinder African American adolescents’ brain development. Interventions should add resources to the urban areas that many African American families live in so their children can have better age-related brain development. Such changes would be essential given IC in pre-adolescents is a predictor of a wide range of behaviors.

scholarly journals Parental Education and Nucleus Accumbens Response to Reward Anticipation: Minorities’ Diminished Returns

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. p132
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari
Keyword(s):  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
High Risk Behaviors ◽  
White Families ◽  
Reward Anticipation ◽  
American Children ◽  
The Right ◽  
Family Ses

Background. Considerable research has documented the effects of race and Socioeconomic Status (SES) on reward-seeking behaviors; however, less is known about the multiplicative effects of race and family SES on brain response to reward anticipation. Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) suggest that family SES would show weaker effects on brain development of children in non-White families than in White families. Objective. To test race by SES variation in Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc) response to reward anticipation (NAcc-RA) among American children. Methods. For this cross-sectional analysis, data came from the Adolescents Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study which included 6,419,9-10 year old children. The independent variable was parental education. The moderator was race. The primary outcome was the right NAcc-RA. Age, sex, ethnicity, household income, and family structure were the covariates. We used mixed-effect regression models that adjusted for the nested nature of the ABCD data. Results. While high parental education was associated with a higher amount of right NAcc-RA, this effect was stronger for White than non-White children. This finding was evident in the observed interactions between race and parental education on the right NAcc-RA. Discussion. For American children, NAcc-RA is not shaped by race or family SES, but by their intersection. As a result of the interaction between race and SES (diminished return of SES for non-Whites), middle-class racial minority children may remain susceptible to high-risk behaviors. Disparities in high-risk behaviors in children should not be reduced to economic disparities. Structural inequalities may reduce the return of SES resources for non-White families.

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

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Shanika Boyce ◽  
Golnoush Akhlaghipour ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan ◽  
Cleopatra H. Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
Parent Education ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
African American Adolescents ◽  
African American Families ◽  
High Risk Behaviors ◽  
Reward Responsiveness ◽  
Hispanic White

(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.

scholarly journals Effects of 2 Prevention Programs on High-Risk Behaviors Among African American Youth

2004 ◽  
Vol 158 (4) ◽  
pp. 377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. Flay ◽  
Sally Graumlich ◽  
Eisuke Segawa ◽  
James L. Burns ◽  
Michelle Y. Holliday
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Risk Behaviors ◽  
African American Youth ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
High Risk Behaviors
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