Racial Discrimination and Neurodevelopment: Identifying Protective and Risk Factors for Black Children Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

Racial discrimination has been well documented as a risk factor for negative health outcomes in individuals from minority communities. Racial discrimination can be experienced both directly through perceived experiences and indirectly through structural inequities. Black women are more at risk for discrimination due to being of both a racial and gender minority. Discrimination is a unique stressor, and stress experienced in pregnancy influences not only the pregnant individual themselves, but also the neurodevelopment of the fetus. Additionally, children impacted by structural discrimination may have inhibited learning and academic achievement. The present dissertation examines children’s cognitive outcomes in association with Black women’s experiences of discrimination in pregnancy and postpartum experiences of neighborhood safety and discrimination. The first study identified an intergenerational association between maternal experiences of discrimination and gendered racial stress and lower child executive functioning scores. The second study explored the impact of structural discrimination on child academic performance. We identified neighborhood safety, maternal discrimination, and specific parenting factors as having significant negative impacts on child academic achievement. Both studies attempt to identify protective factors (e.g., social support and positive parenting) that might mitigate the impacts of these ubiquitous experiences of discrimination and contribute to literature that does not only investigate minority communities with a deficit lens. Data for study 1 is drawn from a local sample of Black women enrolled in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium - a large, national prospective longitudinal study on women and children’s health and development. Data for study 2 is drawn from the larger ECHO cohort. 

Table of Contents

General Introduction - 1

Study One – 9

Table 1 – 23

Table 2 – 24

Table 3 – 24

Table 4 – 25

Figure 1 – 26

Figure 2 – 27

Figure 3 – 28

Figure 4 – 29

Figure 5 – 30

Figure 6 – 31

Figure 7 – 32

Figure 8 – 33

Study Two – 40

Table 1 – 49

Table 2 – 52

Table 3 – 53

Table 4 – 53

Table 5 – 54

Table 6 – 55

Table 7 – 55

General Discussion - 62

References – 69

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Clinical Psychology
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Clinical
Keyword	discrimination executive function intergenerational achievement
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Patricia Brennan, Emory University
Committee Members	Alexandra Cohen, Emory University Anne Dunlop, Emory University Hilary Rodman, Emory University Rohan Palmer, Emory University

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