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Article Open Access July 18, 2024

Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education

Shervin Assari 1, 2, 3, 4,* and Hossein Zare 5, 6
1
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, 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
Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
5
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
6
School of Business, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), College Park, MD, United States
Publihed in: Current Research in Public Health (Volume 4, Issue 1, 2024)
Page(s): 18-29
DOI: 10.31586/ojp.2024.986
Received
May 20, 2024
Revised
June 29, 2024
Accepted
July 17, 2024
Published
July 18, 2024
Keywords
Parental Education; Minorities’ Diminished Returns; Racial Disparities; Household Income; Educational Attainment
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), 2024. Published by Scientific Publications
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APA Style
Assari, S. , & Zare, H. (2024). Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education. Current Research in Public Health, 4(1), 18-29. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2024.986
ACS Style
Assari, S. ; Zare, H. Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education. Current Research in Public Health 2024 4(1), 18-29. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2024.986
Chicago/Turabian Style
Assari, Shervin, and Hossein Zare. 2024. "Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education". Current Research in Public Health 4, no. 1: 18-29. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2024.986
AMA Style
Assari S, Zare H. Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education. Current Research in Public Health. 2024; 4(1):18-29. https://doi.org/10.31586/ojp.2024.986 
@Article{crph986,
AUTHOR = {Assari, Shervin and Zare, Hossein},
TITLE = {Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education},
JOURNAL = {Current Research in Public Health},
VOLUME = {4},
YEAR = {2024},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {18-29},
URL = {https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJP/article/view/986},
ISSN = {2831-5162},
DOI = {10.31586/ojp.2024.986},
ABSTRACT = {Background: High parental education promotes various aspects of offspring well-being including reducing their risk of depression/anxiety, criminal justice involvement, and welfare reliance. However, according to minorities’ diminished returns, these benefits are not equal across racial groups, with Black families experiencing diminished returns of parental education compared to White families. This study explores the role of household income and offspring educational attainment as potential serial pathways that operate as mechanisms underlying diminished returns of parental education on offspring outcomes in Black families. Gender differences in these effects were also explored. Methods: Utilizing data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) over a 22-year follow-up period (seven waves), we examined the serial mediation by household income and offspring educational attainment in explaining the relationship between parental education and offspring outcomes namely depression, anxiety, criminal justice involvement, and welfare reliance [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)]. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) with household income as the first mediator and young adult education as the second mediator. Multi-group models were used to explore gender differences in these paths. Results: The study confirmed the role of our proposed serial mediators for Blacks’ weaker effects of parental education on offspring outcomes. We observed weaker effects of first affects household income, with this effect being for Black families compared to White families, which then impacted educational attainment of the offspring. The findings indicate that household income plays a crucial mediating role, but its effect is weaker in Black families. Additionally, the educational attainment of offspring from highly educated Black parents is less effective in improving outcomes compared to their White peers, further contributing to diminished returns. Some gender differences were observed for the effects of educational attainment on economic and health outcomes of young adults. Conclusions: The study underscores the need to reconsider traditional assumptions about the comparability of family conditions and outcomes across racial groups with similar levels of parental education. The findings highlight the importance of targeted policies and interventions aimed at enhancing the economic stability and educational outcomes of Black families to address these disparities. Policies should focus on promoting the economic well-being of highly educated Black parents and improving the educational outcomes of their children.},
}
%0 Journal Article
%A Assari, Shervin
%A Zare, Hossein
%D 2024
%J Current Research in Public Health

%@ 2831-5162
%V 4
%N 1
%P 18-29

%T Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education
%M doi:10.31586/ojp.2024.986
%U https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJP/article/view/986

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AU  - Assari, Shervin
AU  - Zare, Hossein
TI  - Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education
T2  - Current Research in Public Health
PY  - 2024
VL  - 4
IS  - 1
SN  - 2831-5162
SP  - 18
EP  - 29
UR  - https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/OJP/article/view/986
AB  - Background: High parental education promotes various aspects of offspring well-being including reducing their risk of depression/anxiety, criminal justice involvement, and welfare reliance. However, according to minorities’ diminished returns, these benefits are not equal across racial groups, with Black families experiencing diminished returns of parental education compared to White families. This study explores the role of household income and offspring educational attainment as potential serial pathways that operate as mechanisms underlying diminished returns of parental education on offspring outcomes in Black families. Gender differences in these effects were also explored. Methods: Utilizing data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) over a 22-year follow-up period (seven waves), we examined the serial mediation by household income and offspring educational attainment in explaining the relationship between parental education and offspring outcomes namely depression, anxiety, criminal justice involvement, and welfare reliance [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)]. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) with household income as the first mediator and young adult education as the second mediator. Multi-group models were used to explore gender differences in these paths. Results: The study confirmed the role of our proposed serial mediators for Blacks’ weaker effects of parental education on offspring outcomes. We observed weaker effects of first affects household income, with this effect being for Black families compared to White families, which then impacted educational attainment of the offspring. The findings indicate that household income plays a crucial mediating role, but its effect is weaker in Black families. Additionally, the educational attainment of offspring from highly educated Black parents is less effective in improving outcomes compared to their White peers, further contributing to diminished returns. Some gender differences were observed for the effects of educational attainment on economic and health outcomes of young adults. Conclusions: The study underscores the need to reconsider traditional assumptions about the comparability of family conditions and outcomes across racial groups with similar levels of parental education. The findings highlight the importance of targeted policies and interventions aimed at enhancing the economic stability and educational outcomes of Black families to address these disparities. Policies should focus on promoting the economic well-being of highly educated Black parents and improving the educational outcomes of their children.
DO  - Household Income and Offspring Education Explain Blacks’ Diminished Returns of Parental Education
TI  - 10.31586/ojp.2024.986
ER  -