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Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified), Open
Journal article
School Racial Segregation and the Health of Black Children
Pediatrics (Evanston), v 149(5)
01 May 2022
Abstract
OBJECTIVESFew researchers have evaluated whether school racial segregation, a key manifestation of structural racism, affects child health, despite its potential impacts on school quality, social networks, and stress from discrimination. We investigated whether school racial segregation affects Black children's health and health behaviors. METHODSWe estimated the association of school segregation with child health, leveraging a natural experiment in which school districts in recent years experienced increased school segregation. School segregation was operationalized as the Black-White dissimilarity index. We used ordinary least squares models as well as quasi-experimental instrumental variables analysis, which can reduce bias from unobserved confounders. Data from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1997-2014, n = 1248 Black children) were linked with district-level school segregation measures. Multivariable regressions were adjusted for individual-, neighborhood-, and district-level covariates. We also performed subgroup analyses by child sex and age. RESULTSIn instrumental variables models, a one standard deviation increase in school segregation was associated with increased behavioral problems (2.53 points on a 27-point scale; 95% CI, 0.26 to 4.80), probability of having ever drunk alcohol (0.23; 95% CI, 0.049 to 0.42), and drinking at least monthly (0.20; 95% CI, 0.053 to 0.35). School segregation was more strongly associated with drinking behaviors among girls. CONCLUSIONSSchool segregation was associated with worse outcomes on several measures of well-being among Black children, which may contribute to health inequities across the life span. These results highlight the need to promote school racial integration and support Black youth attending segregated schools.
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Details
- Title
- School Racial Segregation and the Health of Black Children
- Creators
- Guangyi Wang - University of California, San FranciscoGabriel L. Schwartz - University of California, San FranciscoMin Hee Kim - University of California, San FranciscoJustin S. White - Cancer Research And BiostatisticsM. Maria Glymour - Cancer Research And BiostatisticsSean Reardon - Stanford UniversityKiarri N. Kershaw - Northwestern UniversityScarlett Lin Gomez - Cancer Research And BiostatisticsPushkar P. Inamdar - Cancer Research And BiostatisticsRita Hamad - University of California, San Francisco
- Publication Details
- Pediatrics (Evanston), v 149(5)
- Publisher
- Amer Acad Pediatrics
- Number of pages
- 10
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative; Health Management and Policy
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000949790600020
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85129781499
- Other Identifier
- 991021871449204721