Background: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among adolescents is a growing public health concern, particularly in low-income and Black communities. However, little is known about how social determinants of health shape e-cigarette perceptions in this population. Aims: This study examined social determinants associated with perceptions of e-cigarette safety among Baltimore high school students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey (CEASE Youth: School Survey) was conducted with 604 Baltimore high school students aged 14–20. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing perceptions of e-cigarette safety, as well as parental education, race/ethnicity, parental employment, household composition, and community tobacco use. Results: Higher parental education was associated with lower perceived e-cigarette safety among students. Students in higher grades also reported lower perceived e-cigarette safety. In contrast, male students—particularly those in upper grades—were more likely to perceive e-cigarettes as safe. Race/ethnicity, household composition, parental employment, and community tobacco exposure were not associated with perceived e-cigarette safety. Conclusion: Higher parental education, female gender, and being in higher grades were associated with perceiving e-cigarettes as unsafe. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address vaping perceptions among youth in urban settings.

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.

Background: Most neuroscience research has predominantly focused on White, middle-class populations, leading to gaps in understanding how socioeconomic status (SES) influences brain development and health behaviors in racially diverse groups. Tobacco use, a major public health concern, is influenced by both family and neighborhood SES, with early initiation during adolescence predicting long-term health outcomes. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study provides a unique opportunity to examine racial disparities in the pathways from SES to brain development and behavior, especially through the lens of Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs), where the effects of SES are attenuated for minority groups. Objective: This study investigates racial variation in the associations between SES, cerebral cortical volume, and tobacco use initiation, comparing Black and White youth over 4-6 years of follow-up. Methods: Data from the ABCD study were analyzed to assess pathways from family income to adolescents’ cortical volume via the needs-to-income ratio, and from cortical volume to tobacco use initiation. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate these pathways, stratified by race, with a focus on comparing Black and White participants. Covariates included family and neighborhood SES, demographic factors, and baseline behavioral measures. Results: We found that the positive association between income (via the needs-to-income ratio) and total cortical volume was significantly weaker for Black youth compared to White youth. Additionally, the link between larger total cortical volume and reduced risk of tobacco initiation was also weaker in Black adolescents. These findings were consistent over 4-6 years of follow-up, suggesting that Black youth experience diminished returns from higher SES in terms of brain development and behavioral outcomes. Conclusions: Our findings highlight significant racial disparities in the pathways from SES to brain development and tobacco use initiation, supporting the Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) framework. While higher SES is associated with larger cortical volumes and lower tobacco use risk in White youth, these associations are attenuated in Black adolescents.

Background: Puberty is a crucial developmental milestone that involves significant physiological, emotional, and behavioral changes. Early puberty onset, influenced by both biological and social factors, is associated with an increased risk of engaging in substance use, such as tobacco and marijuana. While high family income is generally linked to delayed puberty onset and lower behavioral risks, these benefits may not be equally protective for Black youth due to the phenomenon of Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs). MDRs suggest that higher family income does not offer the same protective effects for Black youth as it does for White youth, potentially leading to earlier puberty and increased substance use among high-income Black adolescents. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether early puberty onset and associated positive urgency (impulsivity) mediate the relationship between family income and the initiation of tobacco and marijuana use over a six-year follow-up period among adolescents. Additionally, the study examined whether the effects of family income on early puberty onset differ by race, testing the hypothesis that high-income Black youth would experience earlier puberty onset compared to their high-income White peers. Methods: Data were sourced from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Participants were 9-10-year-old adolescents at baseline, followed over a period of six years. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess whether early puberty onset mediated the effects of family income on substance use behaviors. Interaction terms between race and family income were included to test whether the impact of family income varies by race. Results: Early puberty onset and associated positive urgency partially explained the relationship between family income and the initiation of tobacco and marijuana use. High-income Black youth showed earlier puberty onset compared to their White counterparts. Earlier puberty onset then predicted higher positive urgency. These factors, in turn, were linked to higher rates of tobacco and marijuana initiation. Conclusions: This study provides additional evidence that the benefits of high family income do not extend equally to Black adolescents, particularly regarding delaying puberty onset and its consequences for substance use.

Objective: This study explores the relationship between neighborhood stress and Body Mass Index (BMI) in adolescents, while also examining whether this association differs between Black and White adolescents. Methods: Data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study were analyzed using linear regression models to examine the association between neighborhood stress (defined as a composite score based on three items measuring perceived safety and neighborhood fear) and BMI in adolescents, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic variables. We tested models both with and without interaction terms to assess whether race moderated the association. Stratified analyses were conducted to further explore potential differences between Black and White adolescents. Results: A positive association was observed between neighborhood stress and BMI across the overall sample. However, this association was weaker for Black adolescents compared to White adolescents, even after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusions: The contribution of neighborhood stress to higher BMI in adolescents may vary by race. Our findings suggest that while neighborhood stress is associated with increased BMI, Black adolescents appear to be less affected by these stressors than their White peers. This weaker association could be due to the normalization of stress in environments where it is pervasive (what is common becomes normal) or the presence of other significant risk factors affecting BMI in Black youth, such as poverty, limited food access, food culture, and food deserts. Future research should explore processes of habituation, inoculation, or even sensitization to stress among Black populations, who are often exposed to a wide range of stressors throughout the life course.

Background. Although youth from high socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are generally protected against tobacco use, this protection is weaker for racialized and marginalized families, particularly Black youth. While Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) of household income on tobacco use have been documented for Black youth, the mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood. Objective. This study investigates whether school poverty and associated peer deviance and delinquent behaviors explain the disproportionately higher tobacco use among Black youth from high-income backgrounds, using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Methods. We conducted a longitudinal analysis of Black youth from high-income families within the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. A total of 8,777 youth was included in our analysis. We examined the associations between household income and tobacco use, with school poverty and associated peer deviance and delinquent behaviors as mediators. Race was considered as a moderator. Results. Compared to their high-income White counterparts, Black youth from high-income backgrounds were more likely to live in areas with higher school poverty, which exposed them to increased levels of peer deviance and delinquent behaviors compared to their White counterparts. These exposures, in turn, were associated with higher rates of tobacco use among Black youth. Thus, higher school poverty, along with the related peer deviance and delinquent behaviors, contributed to the elevated tobacco use observed among Black adolescents from high-income backgrounds. Conclusion. The study suggests that residing in areas with school poverty, peer deviance, and youth delinquency may explain Minorities' Diminished Returns, which are defined as the weaker protective effects of socioeconomic status on tobacco use among Black youth. Interventions aiming to prevent tobacco use need to include structural components addressing these broader social determinants of health.

Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) is traditionally viewed as a protective factor against impulsivity and subsequent tobacco use in youth. The prevailing model suggests that higher SES is associated with lower impulsivity, which in turn reduces the likelihood of future tobacco use. However, this pathway may not hold uniformly across racial groups due to differences in impulsivity and the phenomenon of Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs), where the protective effects of SES, such as educational attainment, tend to be weaker or even reversed for Black youth compared to their White counterparts. Objectives: This study aims to examine the racial heterogeneity in the pathway from childhood SES to impulsivity and subsequent tobacco use initiation during adolescence, focusing on differences between Black and White youth. Methods: Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which includes a diverse sample of youth aged 9 to 16 years. The analysis examined the relationship between baseline family SES (age 9), impulsivity (age 9), and subsequent tobacco use (ages 9 to 16). Impulsivity was measured using the Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-P). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed, with analyses stratified by race to explore potential differences in these associations. Results: Overall, 6,161 non-Latino White and 1,775 non-Latino Black adolescents entered our analysis. In the full sample, higher family SES was linked to lower childhood impulsivity and, consequently, less tobacco uses in adolescence. However, racial differences emerged upon stratification. Among White youth, higher SES was associated with lower impulsivity, leading to reduced tobacco use, consistent with the expected model. In contrast, among Black youth, higher SES was not associated with lower impulsivity, thereby disrupting the protective effect of SES on tobacco use through this pathway. These findings suggest that racial heterogeneity exists in the SES-impulsivity-tobacco use pathway, aligning with the MDRs framework, which highlights how structural factors may weaken the protective effects of high SES among Black youth. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of considering racial heterogeneity in the relationships between SES, impulsivity, and tobacco use. The observed disparities suggest a need for targeted interventions that address the unique challenges faced by Black youth, who may not experience the same protective benefits of high SES as their White peers. These results carry significant implications for public health strategies aimed at reducing tobacco use in racially diverse populations.

Background: Racial disparities in educational outcomes persist in the United States, with Black individuals experiencing lower levels of educational attainment and a higher rate of school disciplinary actions compared to their White counterparts. Parental education is a known predictor of offspring educational attainment, but its effects may vary by race. Understanding the role of household income in mediating these effects is crucial for developing targeted policy interventions to reduce educational inequalities. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the role of household income in mediating the differential effects of maternal education on two youth educational outcomes (educational attainment by age 22 and school disciplinary action) in Black and White families. Methods: Data were drawn from the 22 years of follow-up of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a longitudinal study following a cohort of children born in large U.S. cities between 1998 and 2000. Participants included 1,647 Black and 689 White young adults who were followed from birth to age 22. Maternal education, household income, family structure, and paternal incarceration were assessed at baseline (birth), and two youth educational outcomes, namely educational attainment and any school disciplinary action, were assessed at age 22 (emerging adulthood). Using structural equation modeling (SEM), mediation analysis was conducted to examine whether household income partially mediates the effects of maternal education on youth educational outcomes, with race (Black vs. White) as the moderator. Results: The results indicated that maternal education was positively associated with youth educational attainment and negatively associated with school disciplinary actions in the pooled sample that included both Black and White families. However, the effect of parental education on educational attainment at age 22 was weaker for Black than White families. Household income partially mediated racial differences in the effect of maternal education on youth educational attainment. The results suggest that lower household income in Black families is why we observe a weaker effect of parental education on youth educational attainment for Black youth compared to White youth. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the lower household income of families is one of the reasons high maternal education levels are associated with lower youth educational attainment in Black than White families. Addressing income disparities through tax policies may help reduce racial disparities in education and promote educational equity for Black youth.