b'CHAPTER 4 | CROSS-NATIONAL HEALTH DISPARITIES AND US DISADVANTAGEpollution and cognitive function. Older adultsfinancial status when they were living in areas with higher concentrations ofgrowing up. The first asks, particulate matter (a measure of air pollution),While you were growing have worse cognitive function, especially episodicup, before age 16, did memory. financial difficulties A similar set of studies evaluates the effectever cause you or of neighborhood characteristics on depressiveyour family to move symptoms in urban settings. In urban residentsto a different place? over age 70, depressive symptoms are signifi- Another questionBoth socioeconomic circumstances cantly associated with residential stabilityasks, Now think (Aneshensel et al. 2007). A second study exam- about your familyand health in childhood may set ines associations between urban neighborhoodwhen you were growingthe stage for health in adulthood.characteristics and changes over time in late-lifeup, from birth to age 16. depressive symptoms (Wight et al. 2009). AfterWould you say your family(2007) use HRS data to investigate accounting for personal characteristics, change induring that time was pretty wellchildhood SES and risk of heart attack be-depressive symptoms is significantly associatedoff financially, about average, or poor?tween 1992 and 2002. This study uses a larger set with neighborhood disadvantage. Poor childhood SES is associated with worseof measures to represent childhood SES including adult health, even considering the impact of adultmothers education, fathers occupation, familys Childhood Influences on SES. Parental education has the largest impact.financial status, needing to move because of Later Life Health Interestingly, these effects tend to diminish withfinancial difficulties, needing to receive help from The negative impact of disadvantaged life con- age and are not present for Hispanics. Anotherrelatives, fathers extended unemployment, and ditions on health can begin long before healthstudy supports this finding. Childhood health andfathers absence. A significant gender difference problems arise in adulthood. Indeed, both socio- SES impact chronic health trajectories for bothemerges. Childhood SES has no impact on the economic circumstances and health in childhoodAfrican American and White respondents. Therisk of heart attack in men. For women, how-may set the stage for health in adulthood.negative health effects of poor childhood healthever, growing up without a father and/or under Several studies use the HRS to explore theand disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions areadverse economic conditions confers a significant effect of childhood socioeconomic disadvantagehigher for women than for men (Basu 2015). risk for heart attack over 10 years of follow-up. on a range of health outcomes. Moody-Ayers etOther studies explore effects of childhoodAn important question is whether the al. (2007) use HRS information from 1998 tosocioeconomic conditions on specific chronicimpact of childhood SES has a direct impact on consider the influence of childhood SES on self-re- health conditions. Hamil-Luker and ORandadult health or whether it affects adult health ported health status. Childhoodprimarily through its effect on adult SES. Nandi SES includes parental educationFor women, growing up without a fatheret al. (2012) use parental education, fathers and two measures of HRS partici- and/or under adverse economic conditionsoccupation, region of birth, and childhood rural pants perception of their familysresidence to indicate childhood SES, while using confers a significant risk for heart attack over 10 years of follow-up.79'