Pathways from Socioeconomic Status to Early Academic Achievement: The Role of Specific Executive Functions.

Among the many factors contributing to the SES-achievement gap, executive function (EF) skills have received a considerable amount of attention, given their role in supporting academic skill development. While recent work has demonstrated that global EF constructs mediate SES-achievement relations, less attention has been paid to unpacking the role of specific EF components in linking SES to achievement. Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,273) were analyzed to assess direct and indirect associations between SES indicators, preschool EF skills, and first-grade math and reading achievement. Using path analysis, we found parent education and working memory to be uniquely and most predictive of both achievement domains. Further, after controlling for baseline academic skills, verbal ability, and other child- and family-level covariates, only working memory mediated the association between parent education and children's math achievement. These findings offer a comprehensive look at the specific mechanisms through which socioeconomic disadvantage contributes to children's academic development and provide an initial step towards generating more precise targets for policies and interventions aimed at closing the achievement gap.

Fast-food for thought: Retail food environments as resources for cognitive health and wellbeing among aging Americans?

In this exploratory sequential mixed-methods study, interviews with 125 adults aged 55-92 (mean age 71) living in the Minneapolis (Minnesota) metropolitan area suggested that eateries, including coffee shops and fast-food restaurants, represent popular neighborhood destinations for older adults and sources of wellbeing. Thematic analysis of how older adults perceived and utilized local eateries included sites of familiarity and comfort; physical and economic accessibility; sociability with friends, family, staff, and customers; and entertainment (e.g., destinations for outings and walks, free newspapers to read). To test the hypothesis that these sites, and the benefits they confer, are associated with cognitive welfare, we analyzed data from urban and suburban community-dwelling participants in the Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a national racially diverse sample of older Americans followed since 2003 (n = 16,404, average age at assessment 72 years). Results from multilevel linear regression models of these data demonstrated a positive association between kernel density of local eateries and cognitive functioning, which corroborated qualitative findings. Taken together, these results complicate our understanding of casual eatery settings as possible sites of wellbeing through social interaction and leisure activities. Results prompt further research investigating whether and how retail food environments can serve as community spaces for older adults that may help buffer against cognitive decline.

A latent class analysis of adolescents' technology and interactive social media use: Associations with academics and substance use.

Latent class analysis was used to identify patterns of technology and social media use among adolescents in a national study (n = 26,348). Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations between latent classes and academics and substance use. Results demonstrated four classes: Infrequent Users (55%), Interactive Users (21%), Television Watchers (14%), and Constant Users (10%). Compared to Infrequent Users, Interactive, and Constant Users had lower grades and higher alcohol and marijuana use. Television Watchers had lower grades and participated in fewer extracurricular activities compared to Infrequent Users, but there were no differences on substance use. Results show that adolescents with the most media-intensive profiles were also at greater risk for poor academic outcomes and substance use.

The impact of the Great Recession on the ability of parents to fund their children's college education.

In the United States, most families in the middle class or higher are expected to finance a significant portion of the cost of their children's college education. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Life (LSAL), we analyse the impact of the Great Recession (GR) on the beliefs about responsibility and plans of parents in their mid- to late thirties to finance the post-secondary education costs of their children. Results demonstrate that the GR was unrelated to parents' beliefs about their responsibility to finance their children's post-secondary education, but it was associated with their plans for financing it. Parents who experienced a positive net impact of the GR were more likely to report having a savings plan and being able to borrow money if needed. Parents who experienced a negative net impact of the GR were more likely to report that their child needed a grant, scholarship or loan. College-educated parents were more likely to believe that parents have primary responsibility for financing their children's education and to have a savings plan in place. However, parents who had had a student loan themselves and who had more children pursuing college were more likely to believe that parents have partial financial responsibility and that children should also contribute financially by getting grants, scholarships and loans.

Technology and interactive social media use among 8th and 10th graders in the U.S. and associations with homework and school grades.

This study examined differences by age, gender, and race/ethnicity in the use of technology and interactive social media from 2013-2016 using data from nationally-representative samples of U.S. 8th and 10th graders (N=40,389). Results indicated that 8th graders watch TV and play video games more than 10th graders; boys play more video games and use interactive social media less than girls; and Black adolescents use most forms of media more often than those from other race/ethnicity groups, with the exception of using the computer for school reported most often by Asian adolescents. Mean differences showed that adolescents who spend more time on homework spend more time using the computer for school, and spend less time watching weekday TV, playing video games, and talking on the phone. Adolescents with higher grades spend more time using the computer for school and spend less time on all other types of technology and interactive social media, except for watching weekend TV. Multivariable logistic regression results indicate that watching TV on a weekday was consistently negatively associated with academic outcomes and using the computer for school was consistently positively associated with academic outcomes.

Racial Socialization, Racial Identity, and Academic Attitudes Among African American Adolescents: Examining the Moderating Influence of Parent-Adolescent Communication.

A significant gap remains in our understanding of the conditions under which parents' racial socialization has consequences for adolescents' functioning. The present study used longitudinal data to examine whether the frequency of communication between African American parents and adolescents (N = 504; 49 % female) moderates the association between parent reports of racial socialization (i.e., cultural socialization and preparation for bias) at 8th grade and adolescent reports of racial identity (perceived structural discrimination, negative public regard, success-oriented centrality) at 11th grade, and in turn, academic attitudes and perceptions. Parents' racial socialization practices were significant predictors of multiple aspects of adolescents' racial identity in families with high levels of communication, but they did not predict any aspects of adolescents' racial identity in families with low levels of communication. Results highlight the importance of including family processes when examining the relations between parents' racial socialization and adolescents' racial identity and academic attitudes and perceptions.

Social Capital and Determinants of Immigrant Family Educational Involvement.

Family educational involvement has been identified as a particularly beneficial practice for the achievement and behavioral outcomes of all students, including ethnic-minority students from families who have low levels of income, education, and English language proficiency. However, despite the associated benefits not all families are involved in their child's education and the explanation for differing involvement patterns has not been fully explored. This study examines precursors to parent educational involvement with an emphasis on immigrant families who may face more involvement barriers using the immigrant sample from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 189). Results provide limited support for the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler theoretical model for family involvement; self-efficacy and perceived opportunities for involvement predicted immigrant families' home-based involvement. No antecedents, however, predicted school-based involvement. In addition, results suggest expanding this model to include social capital, which significantly predicted immigrant families' home-based involvement activities.

The association of punitive parenting practices and adolescent achievement.

This article uses a nationally representative dataset to investigate the extent to which academic-related parenting practices and the home environment during middle childhood (ages 11-13) predict achievement in late adolescence (N = 486; age range: 16-18 years). Results from path analyses indicated that parental endorsement of punitive strategies (e.g., lecture, punish, restrict activities) in response to academic underperformance during middle school predict lower literacy and math achievement 5 years later. In contrast, more cognitively stimulating homes predict higher literacy and math achievement 5 years later. Parenting practices and the home environment indicators, however, did not predict changes in achievement. Socioeconomic and race and ethnicity differences in parenting were also found.

Spanish-speaking Mexican-American Families' Involvement in School-based Activities and their Children's Literacy: The Implications of Having Teachers who Speak Spanish and English.

For a sample of low-income, Spanish-speaking Mexican-American families (n = 72), we investigated associations between family involvement in school-based activities and children's literacy in their preferred language (English or Spanish) during early elementary school. We gave special attention to the potential moderating role of teacher fluency in Spanish. Between kindergarten and third grade, family involvement in school-based activities increased for children who displayed early literacy problems. The rate of increase was greater for children who consistently had bilingual teachers than for children who did not. In turn, increased family involvement predicted better literacy skills at third grade, particularly for children who struggled early. We discuss these results in light of recent recommendations to increase the number of elementary school teachers who are fluent in Spanish and English.