Minorities' Diminished Returns of Parental Educational Attainment on Adolescents' Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems

Overview

Journal Children (Basel)

Specialty Health Services

Date 2020 May 24

PMID 32443584

Citations 12

Authors

Shervin Assari

Shanika Boyce

Cleopatra H Caldwell

Mohsen Bazargan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

To compare racial groups for the effect of parental educational attainment on adolescents' social, emotional, and behavioral problems. In this cross-sectional study, 10,762 youth from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study were included. The independent variable was parental educational attainment. The main outcomes were 1) anxious and depressed mood, 2) withdrawn and depressed affect, 3) somatic complaints, 4) social and interpersonal problems, 5) thought problems, 6) rule-breaking behaviors, 7) attention problems, and 8) violent and aggressive behaviors. These scores were generated based on parent-reported behavioral problems measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Race and ethnicity were the moderators. Linear regression was used to analyze the ABCD data. Overall, high parental educational attainment was associated with lower scores across all domains. Race and ethnicity showed statistically significant interactions with parental educational attainment on adolescents' fewer social, emotional, and behavioral problems (all domains), net of all confounders, indicating smaller tangible gains from their parental educational attainment for Black and Hispanic compared to non-Hispanic White adolescents. The protective effects of parental education against social, emotional, and behavioral problems are systematically diminished for Hispanic and Black than non-Hispanic White adolescents.

Citing Articles

Higher-than Expected Social Security Reliance Among Educated Black Americans: Minorities' Diminished Returns in National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2023.

Assari S, Sonnega A, Najand B, Zare H J Biomed Life Sci. 2025; 5(1):14-29.

PMID: 40028231 PMC: 11870664. DOI: 10.31586/jbls.2025.1145.

Population Diversity Matters: Heterogeneity of Biopsychosocial Pathways from Socioeconomic Status to Tobacco Use via Cerebral Cortical Volume in the ABCD Study.

Assari S, Zare H J Cell Neurosci. 2025; 1(1):12-23.

PMID: 40007555 PMC: 11851518. DOI: 10.31586/jcn.2025.1132.

Diminished Returns of Educational Attainment on Hypertension Prevalence among American Indian and Alaska Native Adults: National Health Interview Survey 2023.

Assari S, Zare H Glob J Cardiovasc Dis. 2025; 4(1):11-21.

PMID: 39949785 PMC: 11822950. DOI: 10.31586/gjcd.2025.1148.

High Socioeconomic Status Black Adolescents Attend Worse Schools than Whites.

Assari S, Zare H Open J Educ Res. 2025; 5(1):1-12.

PMID: 39906247 PMC: 11793917. DOI: 10.31586/ojer.2025.1160.

Puberty Onset and Positive Urgency Explain Diminished Returns of Family Income on Tobacco and Marijuana Use.

Assari S, Najand B, Zare H Open J Psychol. 2025; 5(1).

PMID: 39886641 PMC: 11780720. DOI: 10.31586/ojp.2025.1141.

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