Income, wealth, and Black-White disparities in cognition

Abstract

We investigated the contributions of income and wealth (beyond education) to Black–White disparities in cognition and evaluated whether the role of socioeconomic status (SES) varies by age. Based on data from a national survey of Americans (aged 23–94), we used regression models to quantify the overall racial disparities in episodic memory, executive function, and overall cognition, adjusted for sex and age. Potential mediators (i.e., measures of childhood environment, educational attainment, marital status, occupation, income, and wealth) were added in subsequent models. The age- and sex-adjusted Black–White differential in overall cognitive function was around one standard deviation (SD) between ages 25 and 50, but declined to 0.6 SD by age 80. Executive function followed a similar pattern, but the racial disparity in episodic memory declined more rapidly between ages 35 (0.7 SD) and 80 (0.2 SD). Childhood environment and the respondent's educational attainment accounted for 20–25% of the racial disparities in overall cognition. The incremental contribution of household income was small (1–5%). Although wealth had only a small effect at younger ages, the contribution grew with age. Wealth was much more important than income in explaining Black–White disparities in cognition at older ages. Childhood environment, marital status, and SES (including wealth) accounted for one-third of the racial disparity in overall cognition at ages 35–65, but an even greater share at age 80. Our study is the first to demonstrate that, with increasing age, wealth explains more of the Black–White disparity in cognition. A widening racial gap in wealth and the disproportionate financial impact of the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic on minorities do not bode well for Black-White differentials in cognition. Working-age Americans suffered the brunt of the economic impact of those events; the impact on cognition may increase as those cohorts grow older.