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Maternal Education at Birth and Youth Breakfast Consumption at Age 15: Blacks’ Diminished Returns

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  • Shervin Assari

    (Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA
    Department of Public Health, Charles R. Drew University, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA)

  • Shanika Boyce

    (Department of Pediatrics, Charles R. Drew University, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA)

  • Mohsen Bazargan

    (Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA
    Department of Family Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA)

  • Cleopatra H. Caldwell

    (Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA
    Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health (CRECH), School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA)

  • Ron Mincy

    (Center for Research on Fathers, Children, and Family Well-Being, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027-5927, USA
    Columbia Population Research Center (CPRC), Columbia University, New York, NY 10027-5927, USA
    Columbia University School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027-5927, USA)

Abstract

Background: Based on the Marginalization-related Diminished Returns (MDRs) framework, high socioeconomic status (SES) such as parental education shows weaker effects for Blacks than Whites. For example, high SES Black individuals report a high level of depression, anxiety, suicide, chronic disease, smoking, and mortality. Limited knowledge exists on MDRs of parental education on dietary behavior. Aims: Built on the MDRs framework, we tested the hypothesis of whether the effect of parental education on eating breakfast differs for Black compared to White families. We hypothesized that there is an association between mothers’ educational attainment and eating breakfast and compared Blacks and Whites for the effect of mothers’ educational attainment on the frequency of eating breakfast. Methods: The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study is a 15-year follow up study of a random sample of births in cities larger than 200,000 population. The predictor was parental education at birth. The outcome was the frequency of eating breakfast at age 15. Linear regression was used for data analysis. Results: Maternal educational attainment at birth was positively associated with youth frequency of eating breakfast among Whites, not Blacks. We also found a significant interaction between maternal educational attainment at birth and race, suggesting that the association between maternal education and youth frequency of eating breakfast at age 15 was weaker for Black than White families. Conclusions: Diminished returns of maternal educational attainment on healthy youth diet may contribute to the racial disparities in poor health of high SES Black families. That is, a smaller protective effect of maternal education on changing health behaviors for Black than White youth may be one of the mechanisms by which health is worse than expected in high SES Black families. The health disparities are not only due to racial differences in SES but also the diminishing returns of socioeconomic status indicators such as education for racial minorities. Research should study contextual and structural factors that reduce Black families’ ability to mobilize their human capital and secure health outcomes in urban settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Shervin Assari & Shanika Boyce & Mohsen Bazargan & Cleopatra H. Caldwell & Ron Mincy, 2020. "Maternal Education at Birth and Youth Breakfast Consumption at Age 15: Blacks’ Diminished Returns," J, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-11, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jjopen:v:3:y:2020:i:3:p:24-323:d:414381
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Shervin Assari, 2018. "Parental Education Better Helps White than Black Families Escape Poverty: National Survey of Children’s Health," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-14, May.
    2. Shervin Assari & Ritesh Mistry, 2018. "Educational Attainment and Smoking Status in a National Sample of American Adults; Evidence for the Blacks’ Diminished Return," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-12, April.
    3. Shervin Assari & Maryam Moghani Lankarani, 2018. "Educational Attainment Promotes Fruit and Vegetable Intake for Whites but Not Blacks," J, MDPI, vol. 1(1), pages 1-13, June.
    4. Farmer, Melissa M. & Ferraro, Kenneth F., 2005. "Are racial disparities in health conditional on socioeconomic status?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 191-204, January.
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