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Article Open Access February 16, 2025

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

Shervin Assari 1, 2, 3,*, Maria Jahromi 4, 5 and Hossein Zare 6, 7
1
Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2
Department of Family Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
3
Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States
4
Research School of Economics, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
5
School of Economics, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
6
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
7
School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), Adelphi, MD, United States
Publihed in: Current Research in Public Health (Volume 5, Issue 1, 2025)
Page(s): 54-64
DOI: 10.31586/ojer.2025.1169
Received
December 09, 2024
Revised
January 16, 2025
Accepted
January 30, 2025
Published
February 16, 2025
Keywords
Black-White Achievement Gap; Minorities' Diminished Returns; Maternal Education; High School GPA; Racial Disparities; Structural Racism; Educational Inequality; Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study; Social Determinants of Education
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Scientific Publications
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APA Style
Assari, S. , Jahromi, M. , & Zare, H. (2025). Uneven Impact of Maternal Education at Birth on High School Grades of Black and White Students. Current Research in Public Health, 5(1), 54-64. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2025.1169
ACS Style
Assari, S. ; Jahromi, M. ; Zare, H. Uneven Impact of Maternal Education at Birth on High School Grades of Black and White Students. Current Research in Public Health 2025 5(1), 54-64. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2025.1169
Chicago/Turabian Style
Assari, Shervin, Maria Jahromi, and Hossein Zare. 2025. "Uneven Impact of Maternal Education at Birth on High School Grades of Black and White Students". Current Research in Public Health 5, no. 1: 54-64. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2025.1169
AMA Style
Assari S, Jahromi M, Zare H. Uneven Impact of Maternal Education at Birth on High School Grades of Black and White Students. Current Research in Public Health. 2025; 5(1):54-64. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojer.2025.1169 
@Article{crph1169,
AUTHOR = {Assari, Shervin and Jahromi, Maria and Zare, Hossein},
TITLE = {Uneven Impact of Maternal Education at Birth on High School Grades of Black and White Students},
JOURNAL = {Current Research in Public Health},
VOLUME = {5},
YEAR = {2025},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {54-64},
URL = {https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJER/article/view/1169},
ISSN = {2831-5162},
DOI = {10.31586/ojer.2025.1169},
ABSTRACT = {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.},
}
%0 Journal Article
%A Assari, Shervin
%A Jahromi, Maria
%A Zare, Hossein
%D 2025
%J Current Research in Public Health

%@ 2831-5162
%V 5
%N 1
%P 54-64

%T Uneven Impact of Maternal Education at Birth on High School Grades of Black and White Students
%M doi:10.31586/ojer.2025.1169
%U https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJER/article/view/1169

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AU  - Assari, Shervin
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UR  - https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJER/article/view/1169
AB  - 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.
DO  - Uneven Impact of Maternal Education at Birth on High School Grades of Black and White Students
TI  - 10.31586/ojer.2025.1169
ER  -