The Long-Term Consequences of Maternal Educational Attainment: A Developmental Pathway Model to Adolescent Health

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: PS 14 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

It is also well-known that adolescence is a transitional period with elevated risk for mental health issues (Kessler & Walters, 1998). Nationwide, 1 in 6 youth in the United States, aged 6-17, experience a serious mental health disorder each year (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2018). The resulting societal costs, as well as individual and familial suffering (Olesen et al., 2012), emphasizes the need for improving mental health during childhood and adolescence. A potent factor identified as influencing the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents is maternal educational attainment (Meyrose et al., 2018). Though the relationship between maternal education and their child's mental health is well established, previous research has not adequately investigated the developmental pathways that may mediate these associations. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a longitudinal US urban birth cohort study which followed 4,898 families from birth to age 15 (Reichman, Teitler, Garfinkel, & McLanahan, 2001), the longitudinal influence of maternal educational attainment at birth on their child’s health was investigated. Furthermore, we examined the delinquency/ interpersonal pathway from maternal education to these outcomes (depression, anxiety, and self-reported health).
The current study included a sample of 2970 adolescents followed from birth to age 15 (see Table 1). Structural equation modeling (SEM) using Mplus version 8 software (Muthén & Muthén, 2012) was used to test our hypothesized model (see Figure 1). Bootstrapping with Maximum Likelihood Discrepancy was used to estimate the statistical significance of the indirect effect, and biased corrected 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported. The model controlled for mother’s age at birth, marital status, ethnicity, the family’s economic hardship, mother’s diagnosis of major depression, and their child's gender. Missing data (less than 1% across all variables) were treated with a Full Information Maximum Likelihood Estimation (FIML).
The model fit the data well: χ 2 (2970) = 122, p < .001; CFI =.95, RMSEA =.058 with 95% CI [0.049, 0.068], SRMR=.025). Results indicated that there was a significant indirect relationship between maternal education and adolescent health through delinquency. Specifically, adolescents whose mothers did not complete high school (βdepression = 0.01; β anxiety = 0.01; β health = -0.01) were significantly more likely to report poor health through delinquency, compared to those whose mothers completed high school. Adolescents whose mothers had some college (βdepression = -0.01; β anxiety = -0.01; β health = 0.01) or completed college or graduate school (βdepression = -0.02; βanxiety = -0.01; β health = 0.01) were less likely to report poor health through delinquency. Multi-group analyses were performed to examine whether the indirect effect model differed by gender and ethnicity. Findings provide insight into the prevention of adolescents’ mental and overall health. Prevention programs should focus on children of mothers with lower education who additionally exhibit delinquent behaviors. These efforts might be valuable in improving adolescents’ mental and overall health.

Authors

• Xiaoyan Zhang, Syracuse University
  Presenting Author

• Staceyann Reid, SUNY Oswego
  Non-Presenting Author