Background: Parental education is a key determinant of academic performance, yet its protective effects may differ by race and ethnicity. The concept of Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) highlights the weaker association between socioeconomic resources and outcomes for marginalized populations, including Black and Latino youth. Objective: To investigate whether the positive association between parental education and school performance (letter grades) is weaker for Black and Latino youth compared to non-Latino White youth. Methods: Data were drawn from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) 2023 study. The sample included Black, Latino, and non-Latino White youth. The outcome was a nine-level continuous measure of academic performance based on self-reported letter grades, with higher scores indicating better performance. Multivariate regression models tested interactions between parental education and race/ethnicity in predicting grades, adjusting for confounders such as family income, gender, and school characteristics. Results: A total number of 7584 12^th graders entered the study. Parental education was positively associated with school performance across all groups, but the magnitude of this association was significantly smaller for Black and Latino youth compared to non-Latino White youth. Even after controlling for socioeconomic and contextual factors, the racial and ethnic differences in the strength of this association persisted. Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence of Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs) in the academic domain, with Black and Latino youth experiencing weaker benefits of parental education on school performance. These disparities suggest that structural barriers and systemic inequities undermine the translation of parental educational attainment into academic success for marginalized groups. Policy interventions must address these structural barriers to promote equity in educational outcomes.

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.