scholarly journals Subjective Socioeconomic Status and Children’s Amygdala Volume: Minorities’ Diminish Returns

NeuroSci ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Shanika Boyce ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Latino Children ◽  
Amygdala Volume ◽  
American Children ◽  
Subjective Ses ◽  
Family Ses ◽  
Black And Latino

Considerable research has suggested that low socioeconomic status (SES) negatively influences brain structure, including but not limited to decreased amygdala volume. Considering race and ethnicity as sociological rather than biological constructs, this study was built on minorities’ diminished returns (MDRs) to test if the effects of family SES on the total amygdala volume is weaker for black and Latino children than white and non-Latino children. We borrowed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a national multi-center brain imaging investigation of childhood brain development in the US. The total sample was 9380 9–10-year-old children. The independent variables were subjective family SES and parental education. The primary outcome was total amygdala volume. High subjective SES and parental education were independently associated with larger total amygdala size. The association between high subjective SES and larger total amygdala volume was less pronounced for black and Latino children than white and non-Latino children. For American children, family SES has unequal effects on amygdala size and function, a pattern that is consistent with MDRs. This result suggests that SES loses some of its expected effects for racial and ethnic minority families.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Status Inequalities Partially Mediate Racial and Ethnic Differences in Children’s Amygdala Volume

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. p62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Ethnic Differences ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Latino Children ◽  
White Children ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Differences ◽  
Amygdala Volume ◽  
Family Ses ◽  
Black And Latino

Background: While race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) impact brain structures such as the amygdala, less is known on whether or not family SES partially explains why amygdala volume is smaller for racial and ethnic minority groups. Purpose: This study tested the mediating effects of family SES on racial and ethnic differences in right and left amygdala volume. Methods: We borrowed the structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI) data of the Children Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a brain imaging investigation of childhood brain development in the US. The total sample was 8977, 9-10-year-old children. The independent variables were race and ethnicity. The primary outcomes were right and left amygdala volume. Age, sex, household size, and marital status were the covariates. Multiple SES indicators such as family income, subjective family SES, parental employment, parental education, and neighborhood income were the mediators. To analyze the data, we used regression models without and with our mediators. Sobel test was used to test if these mediational paths are statistically significant. Results: Black and Latino children had smaller amygdala sizes than non-Latino White children. The effects of race and ethnicity on amygdala volume were partially mediated by SES indicators, suggesting that one of the many reasons Black and Latino children have smaller volumes of right and left amygdala is their lower SES. Conclusions: For American children, lower family and neighborhood SES indicators partially, but not fully, explain smaller amygdala sizes of Black and Latino children compared to non- Latino White children.

scholarly journals Race, Ethnicity, Family Socioeconomic Status, and Children’s Hippocampus Volume

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. p25
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Family Socioeconomic Status ◽  
White Families ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
American Children ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Hippocampus Volume ◽  
Family Ses

Introduction: The hippocampus has a significant role in memory, learning, and cognition. Although hippocampal size is highly susceptible to family socioeconomic status (SES) and associated stress, very little is known on racial and ethnic group differences in the effects of SES indicators on hippocampus volume among American children. Purpose: This study explored the multiplicative effects of race, ethnicity, and family SES on hippocampus volume among American children. Methods: Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD), we analyzed the functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data of 9390 9-10 years old children. The main outcome was hippocampus volume. The predictor was parental education. Subjective family SES was the independent variable. Age, sex, and marital status were the covariates. Racial and ethnic group membership were the moderators. To analyze the data, we used regression models. Results: High subjective family SES was associated with larger hippocampus volume. This effect was significantly larger for Whites than Black families. Conclusions: The effect of subjective family SES on children’s hippocampus volume is weaker in Black than White families.

scholarly journals Social Determinants of Delayed Gratification Among American Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-189
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Delay Discounting ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Latino Children ◽  
Delayed Gratification ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
American Children

Background: A wide array of Socioeconomic Status (SES) indicators show differential effects for the members of diverse social groups. Researchers know a little about the ethnic variation and the effects of family income on delay discounting which is the predictor of risk behaviors. Objectives: This study examined the effect of family income and its differences on delayed gratification between Latino and non-Latino children. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional analytical study, data came from wave one of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study which included 3903 non-Latino or Latino Black or White American children who are between 9 and 10 years old. The predictor was family income. Data were collected from 21 sites in the US, in 2018. The outcome was the children’s delay discounting. We measured delay discounting, which reflected individuals’ tendency to assign less value to remote outcomes and rewards (inversely correlated with delayed gratification). Data analysis was done by linear regression in SPSS V. 22. Results: According to our pooled sample regression, higher family income was associated with lower children delay discounting (Beta=-0.05, P=0.021). We found a significant interaction between family income and ethnicity, suggesting that the association between family income and delay discounting is stronger for Latino compared with non-Latino children (Beta=-0.09, P=0.043). Conclusion: Not all ethnic disparities are due to socioeconomic status gaps. Across diverse social groups, differential returns of socioeconomic status indicators, such as family income, also contribute to ethnic disparities in health.

Inequalities in adolescent self-rated health and smoking in Europe: comparing different indicators of socioeconomic status

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 963-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Moor ◽  
Mirte A G Kuipers ◽  
Vincent Lorant ◽  
Timo-Kolja Pförtner ◽  
Jaana M Kinnunen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Adolescent Health ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Socioeconomic Inequalities ◽  
Family Affluence ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Pocket Money ◽  
Family Ses

BackgroundAlthough there is evidence for socioeconomic inequalities in health and health behaviour in adolescents, different indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) have rarely been compared within one data sample. We examined associations of five SES indicators with self-rated health (SRH) and smoking (ie, a leading cause of health inequalities) in Europe.MethodsData of adolescents aged 14–17 years old were obtained from the 2013 SILNE survey (smoking inequalities: learning from natural experiments), carried out in 50 schools in 6 European cities (N=10 900). Capturing subjective perceptions of relative SES and objective measures of education and wealth, we measured adolescents’ own SES (academic performance, pocket money), parental SES (parental educational level) and family SES (Family Affluence Scale, subjective social status (SSS)). Logistic regression models with SRH and smoking as dependent variables included all SES indicators, age and gender.ResultsCorrelations between SES indicators were weak to moderate. Low academic performance (OR=1.96, 95% CI 1.53 to 2.51) and low SSS (OR=2.75, 95% CI 2.12 to 3.55) were the strongest indicators of poor SRH after adjusting for other SES-indicators. Results for SSS were consistent across countries, while associations with academic performance varied. Low academic performance (OR=5.71, 95% CI 4.63 to 7.06) and more pocket money (OR=0.21, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.26) were most strongly associated with smoking in all countries.ConclusionsSocioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health were largest according to SES indicators more closely related to the adolescent’s education as well as the adolescent’s perception of relative family SES, rather than objective indicators of parental education and material family affluence. For future studies on adolescent health inequalities, consideration of adolescent-related SES indicators was recommended.

Relationship between Family Socioeconomic Status and Cognitive/Affective Responses to the Threat of Nuclear War

1986 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 247-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott B. Hamilton ◽  
Thomas A. Knox ◽  
William G. Keilin
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Nuclear War ◽  
Nuclear Threat ◽  
Family Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
College Age ◽  
Life Impact ◽  
Cognitive Rumination

The current study involved 214 families (i.e., mother, father, and a college-age child), who were divided into high and low socioeconomic status groups on the basis of parental education and income. Dependent measures included 16 Likert-type items which provided a broad assessment of nuclear war-related thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. Results indicated that families high in socioeconomic status were more worried about nuclear war, more confident in their ability to help reduce the nuclear threat, and more supportive of proposals for arms reduction. However, groups did not differ on several other important measures (e.g., over-all life impact resulting from the nuclear threat), and the absolute levels of worry and cognitive rumination were relatively low.

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 Spontaneous microstates related to effects of low socioeconomic status on neuroticism

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peifang Guo ◽  
Jinqi Cui ◽  
Yufeng Wang ◽  
Feng Zou ◽  
Xin Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
Control Functions ◽  
High Level ◽  
Subjective Ses

Abstract Individuals with high neuroticism had the decreased control functions of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) over amygdala (emotion regions) and low socioeconomic status (SES) had negative effects on the functions of ACC. Based on these, we hypothesized that the decreased functions of ACC might make individuals with low SES had high level of neuroticism. According to the score of objective SES (OSES) and subjective SES (SSES) scales, subjects were divided into four groups (low SSES, high SSES, low OSES and high OSES) to investigate the roles of dynamic characteristics related to the ACC in the relationships between SES and neuroticism using resting-state EEG (RS-EEG) microstates analysis. It had been found that RS-EEG microstates can be divided into four types (MS1, MS2, MS3 and MS4) and the MS3 was related cingulo-opercular brain networks (including ACC and anterior insular). As our prediction, SSES had direct effects on neuroticism relative to OSES. Moreover, the neuroticism for low SSES was positively related to the occurrence and contribution of MS3, as well as the possibilities of transitions between MS3 and MS1. Based on these, we thought that low-SSES individuals might be more difficult to inhibit the negative emotions, especially inhibit the spontaneous thoughts related to these emotions.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic status inequalities in low-grade inflammation during childhood

2016 ◽  
Vol 101 (11) ◽  
pp. 1043-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kammi K Schmeer ◽  
Aimee Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Low Grade Inflammation ◽  
Child Age ◽  
Family Ses

BackgroundFamily socioeconomic status (SES) is an important source of child health disparities in the USA. Chronic stress is one way SES may impact children's physiology with implications for later health inequalities. These processes may work differently across childhood due to differences in exposure and susceptibility to stressors at different ages. We assess associations between family SES and one biomarker of chronic stress exposure—low-grade inflammation detected by elevated C reactive protein (CRP)—and evaluate differences in the associations by child age.MethodsWe used nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and Tobit regression models to estimate SES associations with CRP and the moderating effects of age for children age 2–18 years. Our sample was limited to CRP ≤10 mg/l to focus on low-grade inflammation (N=13 165).ResultsChildren whose parent had less than a high school degree had 35% higher CRP than those with a college graduate parent; and, poor children had 24% higher CRP than those with high family income, net of controls. When children's body mass index was accounted for, low education and poverty associations were reduced to 19% and 15%, respectively. Child age interactions were negative and significant for both parental education and family income.ConclusionsThis study provides new evidence that SES is associated with low-grade inflammation in children, and that these associations may be particularly strong during early and mid-childhood. Future research should further our understanding of stressors related to low family SES that may lead to immune system dysregulation during childhood.

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