Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status: The role of neighborhood effects

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2020

Abstract

Introduction

Little attention has been paid to the role of neighborhoods as a predictor of intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status. This study uses a nationally representative, longitudinal sample from the United States to examine how neighborhoods impact racial/ethnic disparities in the intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status.

Methods

The study sample is derived from Waves 1 and 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The sample size comprises 13,738 participants (aged 15 at Wave 1; 51% female). Multilevel regression is used to predict racial/ethnic disparities in intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status. Six neighborhood-level indicators are regressed on the indicators of intergenerational transmission of education, income and occupational prestige, while controlling for a range of individual socio-demographic variables.

Results

Results reveal that: (1) African-American and Hispanic children are less likely to surpass their parents’ levels of education, income and occupational prestige than Asian-Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic white children; (2) these racial/ethnic differences in intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status are attenuated but not fully explained by neighborhood-level indicators; (3) all but one of the neighborhood-level factors examined were significant in predicting the pace of intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status.

Conclusions

The implication of these results is that policies aimed at reducing inequalities between residential neighborhoods are likely to beneficially affect all racial/ethnic groups but are not sufficient in reducing racial/ethnic disparities in intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status.

Highlights

  • There are considerable racial/ethnic disparities in intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status (SES).
  • African-Americans and Hispanics lag behind non-Hispanic whites in intergenerational transmission of SES.
  • Neighborhood-level factors partially explain racial/ethnic disparities in intergenerational transmission of SES.

Comments

© 2020 The Authors

Publication Title

Journal of Adolescence

DOI

10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.02.007

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