Socioeconomic Status Composition Research Articles

English skills of Puerto Rican students: the effect of gender, SES and school socioeconomic composition

Abstract This study evaluates the effects of gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and school of origin on students’ language performance. We used data from the test Measurement and Evaluation for Educational Transformation (META, for its acronym in Spanish). We analyzed the results of 21,425 eleventh-grade students from 194 public schools in Puerto Rico. The results suggest that there is a significant relationship between students’ gender and their English skills. Female students achieved higher levels of language performance than male students. There was also a significant relationship between SES and language performance. Students with a more advantaged socioeconomic status showed better language outcomes than students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. The socioeconomic composition of the school was found to play an important factor in the linguistic performance of students: a diverse socioeconomic composition is related to better school performance and the narrowing of language disparities. We propose that the composition of schools’ student bodies is a factor that educational linguistic policy makers in Puerto Rico should give more consideration to, as it could have a key role in ameliorating English language attainment and education in general in Puerto Rico’s public schools.

Neighborhood socioeconomic status is associated with low diversity gut microbiomes and multi-drug resistant microorganism colonization

Social disparities continue to limit universal access to health care, directly impacting both lifespan and quality of life. Concomitantly, the gut microbiome has been associated with downstream health outcomes including the global rise in antibiotic resistance. However, limited evidence exists examining socioeconomic status (SES) associations with gut microbiome composition. To address this, we collected information on the community-level SES, gut microbiota, and other individual cofactors including colonization by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in an adult cohort from Wisconsin, USA. We found an association between SES and microbial composition that is mediated by food insecurity. Additionally, we observed a higher prevalence of MDROs isolated from individuals with low diversity microbiomes and low neighborhood SES. Our integrated population-based study considers how the interplay of several social and economic factors combine to influence gut microbial composition while providing a framework for developing future interventions to help mitigate the SES health gap.

Socioeconomic Status Diversity of Trainees and Faculty in Residency Programs: A Pilot Study in Plastic Surgery

The socioeconomic diversity of residents, fellows, and faculty members in any medical or surgical specialty is currently unknown making it difficult to understand socioeconomic status (SES) disparities and create programs to improve diversity. Additionally, the career trajectories of residents and faculty members who come from different SES backgrounds have not been explored. We have performed a survey-based research study to understand the SES composition and career trajectories of residents and faculty members within U.S. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) residency programs. An anonymous online survey was administered to 754 recipients within plastic surgery residency programs in the United States. Self-reported SES information such as household income prior to age 18 and parental education level was collected. Data regarding career trajectories was obtained through questions about away rotations and research productivity. A total of 196 fellows, and faculty members participated in the study, with an estimated survey respondent rate of 25.9%. Only 9.9% (10 of 101) of residents and fellows reported a childhood (under age 18) family income less than $40,000. When analyzing parental education and occupation (EO-status), 42.6% (43 of 101) of residents and fellows had at least 1 parent in an executive, managerial, or professional position with a doctorate/professional degree. Low-income and low EO-status were associated with increased utilization of federal and state assistance programs (p = 0.0001) and approval for AAMC's Fee Assistance Program (FAP) (p = 0.0001). Residents and fellows who identified as White were not as likely to be from low EO-status households as those who identified as Asian (OR 0.3 and p = 0.015 vs. OR 2.9 and p = 0.038). Residents and fellows from low EO-status backgrounds were more likely to take a gap in education (87% vs. 65.4%, p = 0.047) compared to their high EO-status peers. Notably, more current residents and fellows performed away rotations and had first-author publications during or before medical school compared to full professors (p = 0.0001). Understanding the backgrounds and career trajectories of trainees and faculty in medicine is essential, yet it has not been performed at the resident or faculty level. This survey is the first to demonstrate the lack of socioeconomic diversity in a specialty (PRS) and identifies variation in career trajectories among those from different SES backgrounds. Large-scale research efforts are necessary to understand current SES diversity and barriers encountered by trainees and educators from low-SES backgrounds in all medical and surgical specialties.

Does Social and Economic Disadvantage Predict Lower Engagement with Parenting Interventions? An Integrative Analysis Using Individual Participant Data

There is a social gradient to the determinants of health; low socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked to reduced educational attainment and employment prospects, which in turn affect physical and mental wellbeing. One goal of preventive interventions, such as parenting programs, is to reduce these health inequalities by supporting families with difficulties that are often patterned by SES. Despite these intentions, a recent individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of the Incredible Years (IY) parenting program found no evidence for differential benefit by socioeconomic disadvantage (Gardner et al. in Public Health Resesearch 5, 1–144, 2017). However, it did not examine whether this was influenced by engagement in the intervention. Using intervention arm data from this pooled dataset (13 trials; N = 1078), we examined whether there was an SES gradient to intervention attendance (an indicator of engagement). We ran mixed-effects Poisson regression models to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for program attendance for each of five (binary) markers of SES: low income; unemployment; low education status; teen parent; and lone parent status. The multilevel structure of the data allowed for comparison of within-trial and between-trial effects, including tests for contextual effects. We found evidence that low SES was associated with reduced attendance at parenting programs—an 8–19% reduction depending on the SES marker. However, there was no evidence that this association is impacted by differences in SES composition between trials or by the attendance levels of higher-SES families. The findings underscore the importance of developing and prioritizing strategies that enable engagement in parenting interventions and encourage program attendance by low-SES families.

Associations between parental socioeconomic-, family-, and sibling status and risk of eating disorders in offspring in a Danish national female cohort.

ObjectiveStudies on parental socioeconomic status (SES) and family risk factors for eating disorders (EDs) have yielded inconsistent results; however, several studies have identified high parental educational attainment as a risk factor. The aim was to evaluate associations of parental SES and family composition with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) in the offspring, adjusting for parental age and parental mental health.MethodsThe cohort included women born in Denmark between January 1, 1989 and December 31, 2010, derived from Danish national registers. Each person was followed from their sixth birthday until onset of the disorder of interest or to December 31, 2016. Exposure variables were: childhood SES, defined as individually evaluated parental level of income, occupation, and education; sibling status; and family composition. Outcomes were: AN, BN, EDNOS, and major depressive disorder (MDD), included as a psychiatric comparison disorder. Risks were estimated using Cox proportional hazards.ResultsHigh parental SES was associated with increased risk of especially AN, and less so BN and EDNOS, in offspring. In comparison, low SES was associated with a higher risk of MDD. No differences between maternal or paternal socioeconomic risk factors were found. Family composition and sibling status showed limited influence on ED risk.DiscussionSES shows opposite associations with AN than MDD, whereas associations with BN and EDNOS are intermediate. The socioeconomic backdrop of AN differs markedly from that reported in other psychiatric disorders. Whether that is due to genetic and/or environmental factors remains unknown.Public Significance statementParental socioeconomic background (SES) may influence eating disorders risk in offspring somewhat differently than other psychiatric disorders. In Denmark, higher parental SES was associated with increased risk of, particularly, anorexia nervosa (AN). Importantly AN does strike across the SES spectrum. We must ensure that individuals of all backgrounds have equal access to care and are equally likely to be detected and treated appropriately for eating disorders.

Socioeconomic status biases among children and adolescents: The role of school diversity and teacher beliefs in Nepal.

Investigating socioeconomic status (SES) biases, Nepalese children and adolescents (N=605, 52% girls, Mage =13.21, SDage =1.74) attending schools that varied by SES composition were asked to anticipate whether a peer would include a high or low SES character as a math partner. Novel findings were that students attending mixed SES schools were more likely to expect inclusion of a low SES character than were students attending high SES schools. With age, high SES participants attending mixed SES schools increasingly expected the inclusion of the low SES character. Moreover, teachers' democratic beliefs in high SES schools predicted inclusive expectations. Teacher beliefs and school diversity play a significant role for fostering students' inclusivity in educational contexts.

The role of early-life family composition and parental socio-economic status as risk factors for obsessive-compulsive disorder in a Danish national cohort

Research on early-life family environment on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) risk is limited, and sex differences have not been sufficiently studied. We investigated early-life family composition and parental socio-economic status (SES) as OCD risk factors while stratifying for sex in a sample of 1,154,067 individuals from the Danish population (7550 of whom had OCD). Data on early-life family composition (birth order, number of siblings, number of parents in household at proband age 6), parental SES at age 6 (parental income, occupation, and education level), history of parental psychiatric illness, and parental age at birth on OCD risk (i.e., an ICD-10 diagnosis of F42.x) were obtained from Danish population registers. Survival analyses using Cox regression were performed with age as the underlying time variable. Analyses were adjusted for calendar time, and differential effect by sex was tested for exposures. We found that birth order and advanced maternal age were risk factors for OCD in males, and being an only child was associated with increased OCD risk in both sexes. Early childhood SES variables including parental education, occupation, and income were associated with OCD risk, and these effects were more pronounced in females. Significant interaction effects for parental education/occupation and the presence of non-OCD psychiatric diagnoses in the proband also emerged. Our results suggest that early-life SES and family composition may be important risk factors for OCD, and heterogeneity in OCD cases in terms of psychiatric comorbidities, as well as sex differences should be carefully examined in relation to risk factors.

Racial Disparities in the Heavy Metal Contamination of Urban Soil in the Southeastern United States.

(1) Background: Field monitoring data for addressing the disproportional burden of exposure to soil contamination in communities of minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) are sparse. This study aims to examine the association between soil heavy metal levels, SES, and racial composition. (2) Methods: A total of 423 soil samples were collected in the urban areas of eight cities across six Southern states in the U.S., in 2015. Samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) for eight heavy metals. The association was examined with mixed models with the log-transformed metal concentrations as the dependent variables and rankings of low-income or minority percentages as the explanatory variables. (3) Results: Model results showed that soil metal concentrations were significantly associated with rankings of poverty and minority percentages. The cadmium concentration significantly increased by 4.7% (p-value < 0.01), for every 10 percentiles of increase in poverty rank. For every 10 percentiles of increase in minority rank, the soil concentrations were significantly up (p-values < 0.01) for arsenic (13.5%), cadmium (5.5%), and lead (10.6%). Minority rank had significant direct effects on both arsenic and lead. (4) Conclusions: The findings confirmed elevated heavy metal contamination in urban soil in low-income and/or predominantly minority communities.

The Academic Achievement of Secondary Students in Bangladesh: Assessing the Role of Socioeconomic Status, School Attributes, and Academic Activities

This study was aimed at assessing the role of socioeconomic status (SES), school attributes (SA), and academic activities (AA) in the academic achievement of secondary school students in Bangladesh. Data were collected by administering a self-administered questionnaire from 1,043 secondary school students using a multistage cluster random sampling. Hierarchical regression suggested that religion significantly but negatively influenced the academic achievement of secondary students, while SES, teacher-student ratio, performance, and education system significantly predicted the academic achievement, although the latter had a negative impact. Besides, self-regulation and communication also showed a substantial role in determining good academic achievement. Policymakers should pay attention to the SES composition of schools and their quality and mode of education, and certain regulatory activities to achieve quality and all-inclusive education in Bangladesh.

Socioeconomic disparities in incidents at toxic sites during Hurricane Harvey.

Hurricane Harvey facilitated exposure to various toxic substances and floodwater throughout the greater Houston metropolitan area. Although disparities exist in this exposure and vulnerable populations can bear a disproportionate impact, no research has integrated disparities in exposure to toxic incidents following Hurricane Harvey. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between flooding, socioeconomic status (SES), and toxic site incidents. Data on toxic site locations, reported releases, and flood water depths during Hurricane Harvey in the greater Houston area were compiled from multiple sources. A multivariable logistic regression was performed to predict the odds of a toxic site release by flooding at the site, SES and racial composition of the census tract. 83 out of 1403 toxic sites (5.9%) had reported releases during Hurricane Harvey. The proportion of toxic sites with reported incidents across increasing SES index quintiles were 8.35, 7.67, 5.14, 4.55, and 0.51, respectively. The odds of an incident were lower in the highest SES quintile areas (ORadj = 0.06, 95% CI: 0.01-0.42) compared to the lowest SES quintile. Flooding was similar at toxic sites with and without incidents, and was distributed similarly and highest at toxic sites located in lower SES quintiles. Despite similar flooding across toxic sites during Hurricane Harvey, areas with lower SES were more likely to have a toxic release during the storm, afteraccounting for number of toxic sites. Improving quality of maintenance, safety protocols, number of storm-resilient facilities may minimize this disproportionate exposure and its subsequent adverse outcomes among socioeconomically vulnerable populations.

Class and the Classroom: The Role of Individual- and School-Level Socioeconomic Factors in Predicting College Students’ Academic Behaviors

This study examines how, for emerging adults attending residential colleges, family incomes and the socioeconomic status (SES) composition of high schools are jointly associated with academic behaviors in college. Using a one-time survey, daily surveys, and additional data collection on high school SES composition, this study measured 221 college students’ (17–25 years old) SES backgrounds and academic behaviors. Findings indicated that three academic behaviors (study time, in-class engagement, and help-seeking) were predicted by an interaction between family income and high school context. Among students who attended high schools that serve many low-income students, higher family income was significantly associated with more beneficial academic behaviors in college; among students who attended high schools that serve few low-income students, there was no association between family income and academic behaviors. Results indicate that colleges may need to be especially prepared to support students from lower income families who matriculated from lower SES high schools.

Can failure be prevented? Using longitudinal data to identify at‐risk students upon entering secondary school

In 2016, Uruguay started gathering longitudinal student data to improve educational trajectories by putting in place an ‘early alert’ system. Underlying the system is the understanding that prior schooling predicts likelihood of grade repetition and grade repetition predicts later school dropout, while close follow‐up can help prevent both repetition and dropout. We used a database of administrative registries from a national public primary school graduating cohort on their last year in primary and first year in secondary education (2015–2016, n = 36,754). We conducted two‐level cross‐classified logistic regression analyses to assess the suitability of using features of Uruguayan students’ primary school trajectories, individual, family and primary school characteristics to predict their success or failure in their first year of secondary school. All considered prior schooling factors (previous repetition experiences, achievement, behaviour and absenteeism), the student’s family socio‐economic status (SES) and primary school’s SES composition, as well as the location of the school in an urban or rural setting, help explain differences in chances of first‐year success or failure (grade repetition) in secondary school. While these results support the ‘early alert’ system’s approach, predictive performance analyses are needed when using explanatory models for planning interventions with scarce resources and making decisions affecting individual students’ trajectories. The importance of testing resulting models’ sensitivity, as well as their false positive rates, is highlighted.

How School Socioeconomic Status Affects Achievement Growth across School Transitions in Early Educational Careers

Our study investigates how changing socioeconomic status (SES) composition, measured as percentage free and reduced priced lunch (FRL), affects students’ math achievement growth after the transition to middle school. Using the life course framework of cumulative advantage, we investigate how timing, individual FRL status, and legacy effects of a student’s elementary school SES composition each affect a student’s math achievement growth. We advance research on school transitions by considering how changing contexts affect achievement growth across school transitions. Furthermore, we improve on school context research by measuring the ways that SES compositions across school transitions may be interconnected. Using state administrative panel data for third through eighth graders from 2009 to 2015, we use fixed effects to estimate math achievement growth by the end of eighth grade. Findings suggest that a student’s elementary SES composition has a legacy effect on middle school achievement growth net of his or her own achievement growth and middle school SES composition. In addition, SES composition effects differ depending on the timing of exposure and a student’s individual FRL status. Our study has important implications for both educational transition research and school effects research, which are discussed.

The impact of school SES composition on science achievement and achievement growth: mediating role of teachers’ teachability culture

ABSTRACTPrevious studies have shown that schools’ socioeconomic-status (SES) composition has an impact on the academic performance of pupils. Less attention has been given to the explanation of this effect. This study examined whether the teachability culture among the school staff (teachers’ collective beliefs about how teachable their pupils are) mediated the school SES effect on science achievement and achievement growth. Multilevel analyses were conducted with data from 1,761 pupils and 1,255 teachers across 66 primary schools in Flanders. First, the analyses indicated that there was a positive association between school SES composition and teachability culture: Even after controlling for cognitive ability and performance of pupils, there was a more pessimist culture in socioeconomically disadvantaged schools. Second, the association between school SES and academic performance was explained/mediated by the teachability culture. However, no school effects or mediation effects were found for achievement growth as the covered period of academic growth was too short.

Adolescent Neighborhood Environments and Latino Intraethnic Disparities in Trajectories of Serious Violent Behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to describe the longitudinal trajectories of risk for serious violent behaviors among Latinos of different ancestry in the United States and to examine the impact of neighborhood perceptions, socioeconomic status (SES), and racial/ethnic and immigrant concentration during adolescence in long-term risk. Guided by sociological theories and life-course frameworks, we utilized data from Mexican (n = 755), Cuban (n = 182), Puerto Rican (n = 219), and other Latino (n = 289) respondents who participated in all waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Stratified, weighted, multilevel growth curve models were conducted in Stata 14 MP to determine unadjusted and adjusted trajectories between 13 and 32 years of age for each ancestry group by sex. Violent behaviors decreased over time, and were lower among females of all groups. Puerto Ricans and Cubans had higher risk than Mexicans or other Latinos. Neighborhood factors did not have consistent effects across groups. Neighborhood satisfaction reduced risk among most groups, while social cohesion increased violent behaviors among Mexicans. Neighborhood economic well-being (SES) and proportion of non-Latino Whites had no impact among any group. Living in predominantly Black neighborhoods during adolescence reduced the risk into adulthood among Puerto Ricans, but increased it among other Latinos. Higher neighborhood immigrant concentration was related to higher risk among other Latinos. Initial and long-term risk for violent behaviors differed across Latino ancestry, with slower decreases among Puerto Ricans and Cubans. The impact of neighborhood perceptions, SES, and racial/ethnic and immigrant composition was inconsistent.

Children's exposure to secondhand smoke at home before and after smoke-free legislation in Taiwan

IntroductionIn January 2009, Taiwan broadened smoke-free legislation, requiring mass transportation systems, indoor public areas and indoor workplaces with 3 or more people, to become smoke-free. We investigated the secondhand smoke...

The impact of childhood residential mobility on mental health outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood: a record linkage study

BackgroundUnderstanding the causes of poor mental health in early childhood and adolescence is important as this can be a significant determinant of mental well-being in later years. One potential and...

Can We Predict Long-term Community Crime Problems? The Estimation of Ecological Continuity to Model Risk Heterogeneity

Objectives: In small-scale, intra-urban communities, do fundamental demographic correlates of crime, proven important in community criminology, link to next year’s crime levels, even after controlling for this year’s crime levels? If they do, it would imply that shifting ecologies of crime apparent after a year are driven in part by dynamics emerging from structural differentials. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this question has not yet been addressed. Methods: For Philadelphia (PA) census block groups, 2005 to 2009 data from the American Community Survey and 2009 crime counts were used to predict spatially smoothed 2010 crime counts in three different models: crime only, demographics only, and crime plus demographics. Models are tested for major personal (murder, rape-aggravated assault, and robbery) and property (burglary and motor vehicle theft) crimes. Results: For all crime types investigated except rape and homicide, crime plus demographics resulted in the best combination of prediction/simplicity based on the Bayesian Information Criterion. Socioeconomic status (SES) and racial composition linked as expected theoretically to crime changes. Conclusions: Intercommunity structural differences in power relationships, as reflected in SES and racial composition, link to later crime shifts at the same time that ongoing crime continuities link current and future crime levels. The main practical implication is that crime analysts tasked with long-term, one-year-look-ahead forecasting may benefit by considering demographic structure as well as current crime.

The Impact of Childhood Residential Mobility On Mental Health Outcomes in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: a Record Linkage Study

Introduction Understanding the causes of poor mental health in early childhood and adolescence is important and one potential and relatively unexplored factor is residential mobility in formative years. Previous studies in this area have been relatively small, and potentially limited due to methodological issues. Objectives To investigate relationship between early residential instability and poor mental health among adolescents and young adults in Northern Ireland. Methods A census-based record linkage study of 28% of the NI population was used. Our sample was children aged 0-8 years at 2001 (n=49,762) with self-reported chronic mental ill-health in the 2011 census as outcome and address changes assessed six-monthly. Logistic regression was used with adjustment for socio-economic status (SES) and household composition and marital dissolution. The relationship between address-change and non-mental health outcomes was also tested. Results Overall, 54% had moved house at least once, and 0.5% of the cohort aged 10-18 at 2011 reported chronic mental ill-health. There was a graded relationship between address-change and mental ill-health (OR adj 3.67, 95%CIs 2.11, 6.39 for 5 or more moves). This relationship was not modified by SES or household composition. Marital dissolution was associated with poor mental health but did not modify the relationship between address-change and mental health. Conclusions This large study clearly confirms the close relationship between address change in early years and later poor mental health. Life events, including mobility, should be distinguished based on the overall impact which a transition can have over the individual's life.

Race, socioeconomic status, and air pollution exposure in North Carolina

BackgroundAlthough studies suggest that exposure to pollutants is associated with race/ethnicity and socio-economic status (SES), many studies are limited to the geographic regions where monitoring stations are located. ObjectivesThis study uses modeled predictive surfaces to examine the relationship between air pollution exposure, race/ethnicity, and measures of SES across the entire State of North Carolina. MethodsThe daily predictions of particulate matter <2.5µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) were determined using a spatial model that fused data from two sources: point air monitoring data and gridded numerical output. These daily predicted pollution levels for 2002 were linked with Census data. We examine the relationship between the census-tract level predicted concentration measures, SES, and racial composition. ResultsSES and race/ethnicity were related to predicted concentrations of both PM2.5 and O3 for census tracts in North Carolina. Lower SES and higher proportion minority population were associated with higher levels of PM2.5. An interquartile range (IQR) increase of median household income reduced the predicted average PM2.5 level by 0.10µg/m3. The opposite relationship was true for O3. An IQR increase of median household income increased the predicted average O3 measure by 0.11ppb. ConclusionsThe analyses demonstrate that SES and race/ethnicity are related to predicted estimates of PM2.5 and O3 for census tracts in North Carolina. These findings offer a baseline for future exposure modeling work involving SES and air pollution for the entire state and not just among the populations residing near monitoring networks.