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Author: Sun, Sicong
Resulting in 5 citations.
1. Chiang, Chien-jen
Sun, Sicong
Hudson, Darrell L.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Association between Parental Wealth and Child Behavioral Problems
Presented: Phoenix AZ, Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, January 2023.
Also: https://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2023/webprogram/Paper50674.html
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Debt/Borrowing; Depression (see also CESD); Ethnic Differences; Net Worth; Parental Influences; Racial Differences; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background/Purpose: Racial/ethnic wealth inequities are well documented and historically entrenched. Wealth plays a pivotal role in determining the social context in which children live as wealth provides access to neighborhoods with greater levels and quality of resources such as school quality indicators and perceptions of neighborhood safety. Whereas the existing literature is replete with studies that have examined the association between wealth and child development outcomes, the goal of this study is to examine the association between parental wealth and child behavior problems across race/ethnicity using longitudinal data.

Methods: Data for this study were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (1979-2016). Three self-reported racial/ethnic groups were examined: Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic. The final analytic sample was 8,773. The primary dependent variables were the child behavior problem index (BPI). We constructed a median-dichotomized standardized BPI measure in addition to using the antisocial subscale and depression/anxiety subscales. Parental wealth, defined as net worth, was a time-varying variable calculated as assets minus debt, adjusting for inflation. We further created net worth quartiles within each racial/ethnic groups. To account for the within-person and within-household clustering effects, three-level logistic regression was used. We first conducted the analyses using the whole sample, followed by subgroup analyses by race/ethnicity.

Results: Nearly 42% of the non-Hispanic black respondents were in debt or had zero net worth and had the lowest level of net worth compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Wealth was significantly, negatively associated with all of the BPI indicators. Compared to Non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic children were less likely to have an above-median total BPI score (OR=.740, 95% CI .592-.925); Non-Hispanic Black children were more likely to have an above-median antisocial score (OR=1.533, 95% CI 1.311-1.792); Non-Hispanic black children were less likely to have an above-median anxiety/depression score (OR=.737, 95% CI .634-.857). For Non-Hispanic white children, greater wealth was significantly associated with lower odds of having poor behavior outcomes, compared to those in the lowest wealth quartile. For Non-Hispanic Black children, wealth was only protective against the three different behavioral problem indicators among those in the highest wealth quartile. There were no significant associations between parental wealth and child behavior problems for Hispanic children.

Bibliography Citation
Chiang, Chien-jen, Sicong Sun and Darrell L. Hudson. "Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Association between Parental Wealth and Child Behavioral Problems." Presented: Phoenix AZ, Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, January 2023.
2. Sun, Sicong
Building Financial Capability and Assets to Reduce Poverty and Health Disparities: Race/Ethnicity Matters
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities published online (05 June 2023).
Also: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01648-9
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Debt/Borrowing; Ethnic Groups/Ethnicity; Finances, Household; Health, Mental/Psychological; Health, Physical; Racial Equality/Inequality; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: Evidence has documented racial wealth inequity as one of the key pathways linking structural racism and racial health inequity. Most prior studies on the wealth-health relationship use net worth as the measure of wealth. This approach provides little evidence on the most effective interventions as various types of assets and debt affect health differently. This paper examines how U.S. young adults’ wealth components (e.g., financial assets, nonfinancial assets, secured debt, and unsecured debt) are associated with physical and mental health, and if the associations differ by race/ethnicity.

Methods: Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Health outcomes were measured by mental health inventory and self-rated health. Logistic regressions and ordinary least square regressions were used to assess the association between wealth components and physical and mental health.

Results: I found that financial assets and secured debt were positively associated with self-rated health and mental health. Unsecured debt was negatively associated with mental health only. The positive associations between financial assets and health outcomes were significantly weaker for non-Hispanic Black respondents. Unsecured debt was protective of self-rated health for non-Hispanic Whites only. For Black young adults, unsecured debt had more severe negative health consequences compared to other racial/ethnic groups.

Conclusion: This study provides a nuanced understanding of the complex relationship among race/ethnicity, wealth components, and health. Findings could inform asset building and financial capability policies and programs to effectively reduce racialized poverty and health disparities.

Bibliography Citation
Sun, Sicong. "Building Financial Capability and Assets to Reduce Poverty and Health Disparities: Race/Ethnicity Matters." Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities published online (05 June 2023).
3. Sun, Sicong
Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Relationship Between Wealth and Health
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, 2021
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Assets; Debt/Borrowing; Ethnic Differences; Health, Mental/Psychological; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Racial Equality/Inequality; Substance Use; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Racial wealth inequity is one of the most pressing social and economic issues in the United States, historically and contemporarily. Primarily due to unequal distribution of opportunity for economic advancement and mobility in addition to the accumulation of historic disadvantage endured by Black and Latinx Americans, U.S. racial wealth inequity leads to substantial racial health disparities. It is widely acknowledged that socioeconomic position (SEP) is a fundamental cause of disease and health disparities. Centering around three key constructs--race/ethnicity, wealth, and health--this dissertation had two overarching aims: (a) to investigate the relationship between wealth and health, delineating the effects of wealth on health by adjusting for other common SEP indicators (e.g., income, education); (b) to determine whether there are racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between wealth and health.

Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997), which consists of a nationally representative sample of 8,984 youth who were aged 12 to 16 years in 1997. Using hierarchical generalized linear models, ordinary least square regressions, and binary logistic regressions, this dissertation comprises three empirical papers investigating racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between wealth and health. The first paper examines the racial/ethnic differences in the time-varying wealth-health associations during young adulthood from age 20 to 30. The second paper examines racial/ethnic heterogeneity in the relationship between parental wealth and substance use behaviors, including cigarette smoking, heavy episodic drinking, and use of cannabis. The third paper examines how US adults' wealth components (financial assets, nonfinancial assets, secured debt, and unsecured debt) at age 30 were associated with physical and mental health at ages 30-36, as well as if the associations differed by race/ethnicity.

Overall, positive relationships were found between wealth and health. Adding wealth significantly attenuates the association between income, education, and racial/ethnic differences in health. Significant racial/ethnic heterogeneities were found across three studies. Together, these three papers offer a more nuanced understanding of the complex relationship among race/ethnicity, wealth, and health. The findings could inform inclusive, progressive asset-building policies, racial/ethnic tailored public health interventions, as well as wealth and health integrated services.

Bibliography Citation
Sun, Sicong. Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Relationship Between Wealth and Health. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, 2021.
4. Sun, Sicong
Racial/Ethnic Heterogeneity in Parental Wealth and Substance Use from Adolescence to Young Adulthood
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities published online (19 December 2023).
Also: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01893-y
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Education; Employment; Ethnic Studies; Household Income; Marijuana/Cannabis Use; Parental Education; Parental Wealth; Race/Ethnicity; Racial Studies; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Substance Use; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: Substance use has a negative impact on health outcomes, at the individual and population levels. Little consensus exists regarding the relationship between socioeconomic position and substance use across race/ethnicity. This study examines how race/ethnicity and socioeconomic factors, especially parental wealth, are associated with substance use across an 18-year span from adolescence to young adulthood.

Method: Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Substance use behaviors were measured by self-reported heavy episodic drinking, daily cigarette smoking, and use of cannabis. Parental wealth and parental education were measured at baseline. Other socioeconomic factors included education, employment status, and household income. Two-level logistic regression was performed.

Results: White respondents were more likely to drink, smoke cigarettes, and use cannabis compared to other racial/ethnic groups. More parental wealth was associated with greater odds of heavy episodic drinking, but lower odds of cigarette and cannabis usage. Race/ethnicity modifies the relationships between parental wealth and substance use. Whereas Black respondents from wealthier families had lower odds of heavy episodic drinking, the direction was opposite among white respondents. Wealth functioned as a protective factor against smoking for all groups, although to a lesser extent among respondents of color than for white respondents. Finally, wealthier Hispanics were more likely to smoke daily and use cannabis compared to other racial/ethnic groups.

Conclusion: These findings highlight a nuanced patterning of racial/ethnic heterogeneity in the relationship between parental wealth and substance use behaviors. Implications for policy and programming are discussed.

Bibliography Citation
Sun, Sicong. "Racial/Ethnic Heterogeneity in Parental Wealth and Substance Use from Adolescence to Young Adulthood." Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities published online (19 December 2023).
5. Sun, Sicong
Lee, Hedwig
Hudson, Darrell L.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Relationship between Wealth and Health across Young Adulthood
SSM - Population Health 21 (March 2023): 101313.
Also: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827322002920
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Ethnic Differences; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Net Worth; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Background; Wealth

Background: Although the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP) and health has been well documented, very few prior investigations have examined the time-varying association between wealth and health across race/ethnicity. This study examined the racial/ethnic differences in the wealth-health associations during young adulthood.

Method: Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 with three time points, when respondents were aged 20, 25, and 30. The primary dependent variable was dichotomized self-rated health (SRH). Two indices of wealth were calculated: respondents' own reported net worth and reported parental net worth in 1997. Other SEP indicators included household income, education, employment status, and parental education. Three racial/ethnic groups were examined: non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic. Two-level logistic regression was performed, stratified by race/ethnicity.

Results: In the whole-sample analysis, racial/ethnic differences in SRH were not statistically significant, after controlling for wealth. For self-reported net worth during young adulthood, wealth has a incremental consistent effect on health among non-Hispanic White respondents and Hispanic respondents but not among Black respondents. Individual net worth and parental net worth were only significantly associated with health

Bibliography Citation
Sun, Sicong, Hedwig Lee and Darrell L. Hudson. "Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Relationship between Wealth and Health across Young Adulthood." SSM - Population Health 21 (March 2023): 101313.