Health Status and Residential Exposure to Air Toxics: What are the Effects on Children’s Academic Achievement?

• In Event: 452 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 10. Race and Health

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of children’s subjective health status and exposure to residential environmental toxins on academic performance for the first time, while adjusting for school-level effects using generalized estimating equations. The analysis employs National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) risk estimates and individual-level data collected through a mail survey. Results indicate that poorer subjective health status and higher levels of residential air toxins are statistically significantly associated with lower grade point averages, meaning that there is an independent effect of air pollution on children’s academic achievement that cannot be explained poor caretaker-rated health alone.

Authors

• Stephanie Clark, Northeastern University

• Sara Elizabeth Grineski, University of Texas at El Paso

• Timothy William Collins, University of Texas-El Paso