School Segregation and Health Across Racial Groups: A Life Course Study.

Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 9102136 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-1972 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 1054139X NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Adolesc Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: New York, NY : Elsevier, c1991-

Health Status Disparities* ; Schools* ; Social Segregation*; Adolescent ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Young Adult ; Black or African American ; Longitudinal Studies ; Racism ; Risk Factors ; United States ; White

Purpose: Contemporary school racial segregation is a manifestation of structural racism shown to harm Black children's health. Yet, evidence on its long-term impacts throughout life, as well as effects among children of other racial backgrounds, is sparse.
Methods: Data on Black and White children were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Using multilevel models, we estimated associations between district-level school segregation and measures of short-term and long-term health, including self-reported outcomes and biomarkers. Models were run separately for Black and White children, adjusting for individual- and district-level covariates. We further carried out subgroup analyses by school racial composition (i.e., majority White vs. majority non-White schools).
Results: School segregation was associated with worsened short- and long-term risk factors of chronic disease among both Black and White students in terms of exercise and body mass index, but only in majority non-White schools. Moreover, Black students in these schools demonstrated less adolescent drinking and smoking with increased racial segregation and better self-reported health in young adulthood.
Discussion: Our findings suggest that segregated majority non-White schools may be targets of systemic disinvestment and may therefore lack sufficient resources for physical education or nutrition. Improvements in some outcomes among Black children may reflect peer influence (i.e., Black adolescents generally drink less than White adolescents), reduced exposure to interpersonal racism from White peers, or positive health fostered by feelings of belonging in Black community. Ensuring all students go to schools with the resources they need to thrive may have positive spillovers for population health.
(Copyright © 2024 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

R01 HL151638 United States HL NHLBI NIH HHS

Keywords: Biomarkers; Health behaviors; Peer influence; Racial disparities; School segregation

Date Created: 20240609 Date Completed: 20240718 Latest Revision: 20240723

20240725

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.04.014

38852091