Socioeconomic origin, future expectations, and educational achievement: A longitudinal three-generation study of the persistence of family advantage

Gene-environment correlation: the role of family environment in academic development

Academic achievement is partly heritable and highly polygenic. However, genetic effects on academic achievement are not independent of environmental processes. We investigated whether aspects of the family environment mediated genetic effects on academic achievement across development. Our sample included 5151 children who participated in the Twins Early Development Study, as well as their parents and teachers. Data on academic achievement and family environments (parenting, home environments, and geocoded indices of neighbourhood characteristics) were available at ages 7, 9, 12 and 16. We computed educational attainment polygenic scores (PGS) and further separated genetic effects into cognitive and noncognitive PGS. Three core findings emerged. First, aspects of the family environment, but not the wider neighbourhood context, consistently mediated the PGS effects on achievement across development-accounting for up to 34.3% of the total effect. Family characteristics mattered beyond socio-economic status. Second, family environments were more robustly linked to noncognitive PGS effects on academic achievement than cognitive PGS effects. Third, when we investigated whether environmental mediation effects could also be observed when considering differences between siblings, adjusting for family fixed effects, we found that environmental mediation was nearly exclusively observed between families. This is consistent with the proposition that family environmental contexts contribute to academic development via passive gene-environment correlation processes or genetic nurture. Our results show how parents tend to shape environments that foster their children's academic development partly based on their own genetic disposition, particularly towards noncognitive skills, rather than responding to each child's genetic disposition.

Uneven Impact of Maternal Education at Birth on High School Grades of Black and White Students

Background

The Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) theory posits that social determinants of health, such as parental education, exert weaker protective effects on health and educational outcomes in racialized and minoritized populations compared to White populations.

Aim

This study examines whether higher maternal education is associated with better high school GPA in Black youth and whether this association aligns with the MDRs framework.

Methods

Data were drawn from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study also known as Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) baseline and 22nd year follow-up (1990-2022). This study included 1873 Black or White participants who were followed from birth to age 22. Linear regression models were used to assess the association between maternal education and high school GPA, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Analyses focused on the differential effects of maternal education across racial groups, particularly among Black youth.

Results

While maternal education was positively associated with high school GPA, this effect was weaker for Black students compared to their White counterparts. Specifically, each additional year of maternal education corresponded to a lower GPA increase in Black students, consistent with the MDRs hypothesis.

Conclusion

Findings support the MDRs theory, indicating that maternal education has a reduced protective effect on high school GPA among Black youth. These results underscore the need for policies that address structural factors beyond education to promote equitable academic achievement.

Occupational future time perspective and mental health problems across adolescence: Random-intercept cross-lagged panel analysis and alternative variations

INTRODUCTION

Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage characterized by escalating mental health issues as well as an increasing awareness of future career possibilities. Occupational future time perspective has been shown to be a promotive factor for social functioning and mental health, and a component in evidence-based clinical practices and randomized controlled trial intervention studies. However, it requires more rigorous and ecological corroboration from longitudinal analysis at the within-person level.

METHODS

Random intercept cross-lagged panel models with several adjustments and sensitivity analyses were applied to the longitudinal data from the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (Zurich, Switzerland), to analyze how occupational future time perspective and psychological/neurodevelopmental outcomes (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms/externalizing/internalizing problems) covaried across ages 13 (N = 1365), 15 (N = 1446), and 17 (N = 1305) in the years 2016, 2018, and 2020, after controlling for sex (52% male), SES, and school type.

RESULTS

A small effect was found in a random intercept cross-lagged panel model whereby occupational future time perspective at age 15 predicted externalizing problems at age 17 (β = .146, p = .05, [95% CI = 0.000, 0.292]), and in a random intercept (contemporaneous) reciprocal panel model specification attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms at age 17 were contemporaneously associated with occupational future time perspective at age 17 (β = -.310, p < .05, [95% CI = -0.580, -0.041]). No cross-lagged associations were found to be robust across different model specifications/adjustments.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that improving occupational future time perspective may have limited impact on enhancing mental health, offering valuable insights for school-based interventions. Further research and replication are necessary to confirm these results.

Longitudinal effects of peer victimization on adolescents' future educational and work expectations: Depressive symptoms as a mechanism

Leveraging six waves of data, this study examined the effects of ninth-grade peer victimization on adolescents' future work and education expectations 2 years later, testing depressive symptoms as a mechanism. Participants (N = 388, Mage = 14.05; 61% female, 35% male, 3% non-binary, trans, or other gender; 46% White, 19% Black, 17% Asian, 6% AMENA, 6% Multiracial, 6% other race) completed surveys from ninth through 11th grade. Results indicated that adolescents who experienced more frequent relational, but not overt, peer victimization in ninth grade were subsequently more pessimistic about their educational and occupational prospects beyond high school; depressive symptoms mediated this link. The findings suggest that relational victimization and its psychological harm may undermine adolescents' confidence in achieving postsecondary success.

Application of life history theory to explain the association between childhood maltreatment and adulthood sleep problems in Chinese men with drug abuse: multiple mediating roles of emotion regulation, future-oriented coping, and anxiety

Background: Despite the practical importance of addressing the drug user's sleep problems to enhance the efficacy of treatment and rehabilitation, little is known about whether and how history of childhood maltreatment relates to this issue. This study takes an evolutionary perspective to investigate the associations between history of childhood maltreatment and sleep problems in adults with drug abuse via their emotion regulation difficulties, future-oriented coping, and anxiety.Methods: Participants were 604 male adults with drug abuse between the ages of 18-58 years (M = 36.20, SD = 8.17) in a drug rehabilitation centre in China. In addition to bivariate correlation analysis, path analysis was conducted to examine goodness-of-fit of the conceptual model, controlling for the effect of demographic characteristics.Results: Thirty-two percent of participants (n = 194) reported poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5), whereas sleep disturbance (81.3%), daytime dysfunction (77.3%), and sleep latency (66.5%) were the three most common problems among them. Correlation analysis supported the hypothesised positive correlations between poor sleep quality and childhood maltreatment, emotion regulation difficulties, and anxiety, and a negative correlation with future-oriented coping. Results of path analysis showed a significant indirect effect of childhood maltreatment on sleep problems via both emotion regulation difficulties and anxiety, whereas such effects via both future-oriented coping and anxiety were statistically nonsignificant.Conclusions: The findings suggest life history theory is applicable to understanding drug users' sleep problems, and interventions regarding both emotion regulation difficulties and anxiety can lessen the risk posed by childhood maltreatment on sleep problems.

Examination of Current Anxiety Problems with School Engagement and Volunteer and Paid Work among U.S. Adolescents

This study examined the relationships between current anxiety problems and school engagement, community service or volunteer work, and paid work among U.S. adolescents. The 2018-2019 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) dataset was analyzed and included 24,609 adolescents ages 12-17 years. We conducted unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyzes. A total of 12.6% of adolescents had healthcare provider-confirmed current anxiety problems. Adolescents with current anxiety were at decreased odds of engaging in school (aOR = 0.35, 95%CI = 0.29, 0.41) and participating in community service or volunteer work (aOR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.59, 0.86) compared to adolescents without current anxiety. Adolescents with current anxiety were at increased odds of participating in paid work (OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 1.01, 1.38). This study reports that U.S. adolescents with anxiety were less likely to engage in school and participate in community service or volunteer work, but were more likely to participate in paid work compared to their peers without anxiety. Results should inform future interventions targeting adolescents.

The differential role of socioeconomic status dimensions in depressive symptoms of aging adults: data from the Hamburg City Health cohort Study

Background

Socioeconomic status (SES) has consistently been associated with depressive symptoms, however, it remains unclear which subset of SES variables is most relevant to the development of depressive symptoms. This study determined a standardized SES-Index to test the relationship of its sub-dimensions with depressive symptoms.

Methods

HCHS data (N = 10,000; analysis sample n = 8,400), comprising participants 45+ years of age, was used. A standardized approach to quantify SES was employed. Depressive symptoms were quantified using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Using multiple linear regression models, PHQ-9-scores were modeled as a function of age and sex, and (1a) total SES-Index score versus (1b) its three sub-dimension scores (education, occupational status, income). Models were compared on explained variance and goodness of fit. We determined risk ratios (RR, concerning a PHQ-9 sum score ≥ 10) based on (low, middle, high; 2a) SES-Index scores and (2b) the sub-dimension scores, with groups further differentiated by sex and age (45-64 versus 65+). We distinguished between the total SES-Index score and its three sub-dimension scores to identify relevant SES sub-dimensions in explaining PHQ-9-variability or risk of depression.

Results

Among all regression models (total explained variance 4-6%), income explained most variance, but performance of the SES-Index was comparable. Low versus high income groups showed the strongest differences in depressive trends in middle-aged females and males (RRs 3.57 and 4.91). In older age, this result was restricted to females (RR ≈ 2). Middle-aged males (versus females) showed stronger discrepancies in depressive trends pertaining to low versus high SES groups. In older age, the effect of SES was absent. Education was related to depressive trends only in middle-aged females and males. In an exploratory analysis, marital status and housing slightly increased model fit and explained variance while including somatic symptoms lead to substantial increases (R2 adj = 0.485).

Conclusion

In line with previous research, the study provides evidence for SES playing a significant role in depressive symptoms in mid to old age, with income being robustly linked to depressive trends. Overall, the relationship between SES and depressive trends appears to be stronger in males than females and stronger in mid compared to old age.

Revisiting the power of future expectations and educational path dependencies

Individuals from more advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and those with loftier future expectations typically have higher educational attainment. However, it is important to understand just how consequential future expectations are for educational attainment independent of socioeconomic origins-because these expectations might enable intergenerational social mobility. Moreover, it is unclear whether institutional structures moderate the influences of socioeconomic origins and future expectations on educational attainment. I address these questions by analyzing educational attainment as it relates to transitions in a system that offers multiple educational tracks. Using data from a 15-year longitudinal study conducted in Switzerland (N = 4986), I analyze transitions from lower- to upper-secondary education (academic vs. vocational tracks) and from there to university. Path models reveal that both socioeconomic origins and future expectations are significantly associated with individuals' probability of moving along academic paths and into university, but future expectations have a strong unique predictive power even when controlling for socioeconomic origins. However, because the education system partially channels educational trajectories along distinct educational tracks, it minimizes the beneficial effect of future expectations on educational attainment and-by extension-intergenerational social mobility. I conclude that socioeconomic advantage and optimistic future expectations may only shape educational attainment to the extent that institutional opportunity structures allow such resources to take effect.

Mental health, gender, and higher education attainment

We compared the mental health of higher education students with that of nonstudents. Moreover, we examined whether the mental health of students predicts their probability of obtaining a higher education degree, and whether the extent to which mental health affects educational attainment varies by gender. Drawing on a risk and resilience framework, we considered five facets of mental health that may be implicated in distinct ways in the educational attainment process: positive attitude towards life, self-esteem, self-efficacy, negative affectivity, and perceived stress. We used data from a nationally representative panel study from Switzerland (Nstudents = 2070, 42.8% male; Nnonstudents = 3755, 45.9% male). The findings suggest that overall, the mental health of higher education students was relatively similar to that of nonstudents, although students exhibited slightly higher self-esteem, slightly weaker self-efficacy, greater negative affectivity, and higher levels of perceived stress. The effects of different facets of mental health on higher education degree attainment were mostly statistically and/or practically insignificant. However, positive attitudes towards life had a substantial positive effect on the probability of being awarded a higher education degree. Mental health was equally important for male and female students' educational attainment.

Supplementary Information

The online version of this article (10.1007/s11618-023-01187-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Agency and Subjective Health from Early Adulthood to Mid-Life: Evidence from the Prospective Youth Development Study

Understanding the determinants of subjective or self-rated health (SRH) is of central importance because SRH is a significant correlate of actual health as well as mortality. A large body of research has examined the correlates, antecedents, or presumed determinants of SRH, usually measured at a given time or endpoint. In the present study, we investigate whether individual mastery, a prominent indicator of agency, has a positive effect on SRH over a broad span of the life course. Drawing on longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study (n=741), we examine the impacts of mastery on SRH over a 24-year period (from ages 21-22 to 45-46). The findings of a fixed effects analysis, controlling time-varying educational attainment, unemployment, age, obesity, serious health diagnoses, and time-constant individual differences, lead us to conclude that mastery is a stable predictor of SRH from early adulthood to mid-life. This study provides evidence that psychological resources influence individuals' subjective assessment of their health, even when objective physical health variables and socioeconomic indicators are taken into account.

Peer Academic Supports for Success (PASS) for College Students with Mental Illness: Open Trial

Increasing numbers of college students have serious mental health conditions, but their dropout rates are high and debt accrual is common. A well-specified intervention that colleges can directly offer their undergraduates with serious mental health conditions that sustains their academic persistence is greatly needed. The Peer Academic Supports for Success (PASS) coaching model was developed to address this need. This study’s goal was to conduct an open trial of the initial PASS model to test the feasibility of the model and research methods in preparation for more rigorous testing. Ten college juniors and seniors, with and without lived mental health experience, were hired, trained, and supervised to be PASS peer coaches. Twelve undergraduate students with academically impairing mental health conditions served as study participants and received PASS. Student data were collected at baseline and two semesters post baseline. Intervention feasibility data were assessed through coach report. Results indicate PASS can be delivered with fidelity by peer coaches, can attract and retain students, and is safe. Results also suggest that PASS has significant effects on most of the targeted proximal outcomes. The PASS findings are promising as a college-based intervention to support young adult students with mental health conditions.

What Influences the Self-Educational Expectations of China’s Migrant Children in the Post-Pandemic Era

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing societal changes, even along the trajectories of international tourism, educational development, and training systems. Existing research has demonstrated that scholastic attainment, parental educational expectations, and school type have significant impacts on the self-educational expectations of migrant children. Nevertheless, there is still insufficient research on the differences in subject grades, parental educational expectations when it comes to choices regarding specific learning phases, and the impact of school types on specific learning phases. Taking “self-educational expectations = high school degree and below” as the control group, we selected the data of migrant children in grade nine from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) and employed multinomial logistic regression (MLR) to investigate the factors affecting the self-educational expectations of China’s migrant children. The results showed that the standardized scores of Chinese children and the math scores of migrant children only have a significant positive impact on their self-educational expectations for either a doctoral degree or master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree, respectively. Parental educational expectations will greatly facilitate the self-educational expectations of children when these are generally consistent with the type of choice of their children’s self-educational expectations. School type only plays a part when the self-educational expectations of migrant children are to attain a bachelor’s degree. The results can help us understand the differences in the educational expectations of parents and their children; guide parents to positively view their children’s scholastic attainment, emotions, and development goals; and help schools fairly allocate high-quality educational resources in promoting the integration of students from different backgrounds.

Agency, linked lives and historical time: evidence from the longitudinal three-generation Youth Development Study

Whereas Glen Elder and associates' principles of the life course are usually articulated and investigated individually, they reference analytic distinctions that simplify their empirical coexistence and mutual interrelation. This article illustrates this complexity by focusing on the principle of agency and its intersections with 'linked lives' and 'time and place'. Data are drawn from the Youth Development Study (YDS), which has followed a Minnesota cohort (G2, born 1973-74) from mid-adolescence (ages 14-15) to midlife (ages 45-46). The YDS also includes G1 parents and G3 children, the latter surveyed at about the same age as their parents were when the research began. The findings indicate that multiple agentic orientations, observed in adolescence, affect adult attainments; they are shaped by the 'linked lives' of grandparents, parents and children over longer periods of time than previously recognised; and their associations with educational achievement are historically specific. Whereas the 'linked lives' of parents and adolescents are generally studied contemporaneously, the agentic orientations of parents, measured as teenagers, were found to predict the same psychological resources in their adolescent children (self-concept of ability, optimism and economic efficacy) decades later. We also found evidence that parents' occupational values continue to influence the values of their children as the children's biographies unfold. Suggesting a historic shift in the very meaning and behavioural consequences of agentic orientations, optimism and efficacy replaced educational ambition as significant predictors of academic achievement.