A Different Type of Economic Fragility: Wealth and Adolescent Problem Behavior

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Project Summary The proposal addresses the ongoing mental health crisis among adolescents by considering the overlooked role of wealth and wealth deprivation in driving adolescent problem behaviors. The literature on economic disadvantage and behavioral health has taken a myopic view of the economic circumstances that drive problem behaviors, focusing nearly exclusively on income, while ignoring wealth (household assets minus debts). Wealth is distributed more unequally than is income with roughly one-third of child households experience wealth deprivation. This study will be the first longitudinal study of a diverse cohort of families that observes wealth, income, and adolescent development. With a socioeconomically and racially diverse sample of youth (ages 13-15 years; N = 750) and their caregivers, this investigation has three aims. First it will repeatedly measure (9 observations nested within individuals) family wealth from comprehensive sources and gain a more accurate understanding of wealth inequality and net worth poverty over time across different SES, racial, and ethnic groups. Second, it will probe how wealth interfaces with family income and income volatility and how these factors relate to problem behaviors. Considering that the recent growth in wealth disparities has far outpaced income disparities, we believe it critical to consider how wealth levels and deprivation relate to youth problem behaviors. Third, it will test multiple pathways through which wealth may relate to adolescent problem behaviors. These include: 1) investments of time and money, 2) caregiver and adolescent stress, 3) caregiver and adolescent expectations for the future, and 4) perceptions and manifestations of social class. Examined collectively, the proposal contributes new knowledge and connects to NICHD priorities by providing rich descriptive information as to how adolescents’ problem behaviors are shaped by family wealth and how such experiences interface with other dimensions of family economic circumstances to contribute to adolescent development. The project’s robust analysis of four developmental pathways will be crucial for informing prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing problem behaviors and promoting children’s psychosocial functioning among adolescents in families experiencing wealth deprivation.