Abstract
Previous research has documented that adverse life experiences during adolescence, particularly for ethnic minorities, have
a long-term influence on income and asset attainment and that this relationship is largely mediated by educational achievement.
We extend prior research by investigating three research questions. First, we investigate the extent to which community disadvantage,
family factors and race/ethnicity each exert an independent influence on young adult socioeconomic attainment. Second, we
examine whether youths’ educational attainment mediates these independent influences on socioeconomic attainment. Third, we
test whether educational attainment ameliorates the negative influences of disadvantaged community and family conditions and
race/ethnicity on socioeconomic attainment. We address these questions using multilevel modeling with longitudinal, prospective
data from Waves 1 and 4 of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which has a nationally representative sample
of adolescents (N = 13, 450; 53 % females). Regarding our first research question, our results indicated that African Americans, youth from
disadvantaged communities, lower SES families achieve significantly lower levels of earnings, assets, and job quality during
young adulthood. Second, we found that young adults’ educational level only partially mediate the influences of family and
race/ethnicity influences on young adults’ socioeconomic attainment. Third, we found that young adults’ educational level
buffered the influence of early socioeconomic adversities and accentuated the positive influences of family resources. Findings
highlight the importance of social context as well as educational opportunities during childhood and adolescence for economic
stability in early adulthood.
a long-term influence on income and asset attainment and that this relationship is largely mediated by educational achievement.
We extend prior research by investigating three research questions. First, we investigate the extent to which community disadvantage,
family factors and race/ethnicity each exert an independent influence on young adult socioeconomic attainment. Second, we
examine whether youths’ educational attainment mediates these independent influences on socioeconomic attainment. Third, we
test whether educational attainment ameliorates the negative influences of disadvantaged community and family conditions and
race/ethnicity on socioeconomic attainment. We address these questions using multilevel modeling with longitudinal, prospective
data from Waves 1 and 4 of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which has a nationally representative sample
of adolescents (N = 13, 450; 53 % females). Regarding our first research question, our results indicated that African Americans, youth from
disadvantaged communities, lower SES families achieve significantly lower levels of earnings, assets, and job quality during
young adulthood. Second, we found that young adults’ educational level only partially mediate the influences of family and
race/ethnicity influences on young adults’ socioeconomic attainment. Third, we found that young adults’ educational level
buffered the influence of early socioeconomic adversities and accentuated the positive influences of family resources. Findings
highlight the importance of social context as well as educational opportunities during childhood and adolescence for economic
stability in early adulthood.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Empirical Research
- Pages 1-16
- DOI 10.1007/s10964-012-9764-9
- Authors
- K. A. S. Wickrama, 105 Family Science Center I, Department of Child and Family Development, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
- Leslie Gordon Simons, 208 Family Science Center I, Department of Child and Family Development, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
- Diana Baltimore, 311 MacKay, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- Journal Journal of Youth and Adolescence
- Online ISSN 1573-6601
- Print ISSN 0047-2891