Abstract
The objectives of this study were to determine if racial and ethnic differences in personal capital during pregnancy exist and to estimate the extent to which any identified racial and ethnic differences in personal capital are related to differences in maternal sociodemographic and acculturation characteristics. Data are from the 2007 Los Angeles Mommy and Baby study (n = 3,716). Personal capital comprised internal resources (self-esteem and mastery) and social resources (partner, social network, and neighborhood support) during pregnancy. The relationships between race/ethnicity and personal capital were assessed using multivariable generalized linear models, examining the impact of sociodemographic and acculturation factors on these relationships. Significant racial and ethnic disparities in personal capital during pregnancy exist. However, socioeconomic status (i.e., income and education) and marital status completely explained Black-White disparities and Hispanic-White disparities in personal capital, whereas acculturation factors, especially nativity and language spoken at home, partially mediated the disparities in personal capital between Asian/Pacific Islander women and White women. Findings suggest that the risks associated with low socioeconomic status, single motherhood, and low acculturation, rather than race or ethnicity, contribute to low personal capital for many pregnant women. As personal capital during pregnancy may influence subsequent maternal and child health outcomes, the development of interventions should consider addressing sociodemographic and acculturation factors in order to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in personal capital and ultimately in poor maternal and child health outcomes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
MacDorman, M. F. (2011). Race and ethnic disparities in fetal mortality, preterm birth, and infant mortality in the United States: An overview. Seminal Perinatology, 35(4), 200–208.
Finch, B. K., Frank, R., & Hummer, R. A. (2000). Racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality: The role of behavioral factors. Biodemography and Social Biology, 47(3–4), 244.
Lu, M. C., & Halfon, N. (2003). Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes: A life-course perspective. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 7(1), 13–30.
Culhane, J. F., & Goldenberg, R. L. (2011). Racial disparities in preterm birth. Seminal Perinatology, 35(4), 234–239.
Hauck, F. R., Tanabe, K. O., & Moon, R. Y. (2011). Racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality. Seminal Perinatology, 35(4), 209–220.
Rosenthal, L., & Lobel, M. (2011). Explaining racial disparities in adverse birth outcomes: Unique sources of stress for Black American women. Social Science and Medicine, 72(6), 977–983.
Corbie-Smith, G., Henderson, G., Blumenthal, C., Dorrance, J., & Estroff, S. (2008). Conceptualizing race in research. Journal of National Medical Association, 100(10), 1235–1243.
Krieger, N. (2000). Counting accountability: Implications of the new approaches to classifying race/ethnicity in the 2000 census. American Journal of Public Health, 90(11), 1687–1689.
Jones, C. P. (2001). Race, racism, and the practice of epidemiology. American Journal of Epidemiology, 154(4), 299–304.
Williams, D. R. (1997). Race and health: Basic questions, emerging directions. Annals of Epidemiology, 7(5), 322–333.
Lillie-Blanton, M., & LaVeist, T. A. (1996). Race/ethnicity, the social environment, and health. Social Science and Medicine, 43(1), 83–91.
Dunkel Schetter, C. (2011). Psychological science on pregnancy: stress processes, biopsychosocial models, and emerging research issues. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 531–558.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32, 513–531.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Rini, C., Dunkel-Schetter, C., Sandman, C., & Wadhwa, P. (1999). Psychological adaptation and birth outcomes: the role of internal resources, stress, and sociocultural context in pregnancy. Health Psychology, 18(4), 333–345.
Goldenberg, R., Cliver, S., Cutter, G., Hoffman, H., Copper, R., Gotlieb, S., et al. (1991). Maternal psychological characteristics and intrauterine growth retardation. Journal of Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health, 6(2), 129–134.
Feldman, P., Dunkel-Schetter, C., Sandman, C., & Wadhwa, P. (2000). Maternal social support predicts birth weight and fetal growth in human pregnancy. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62, 715–725.
Collins, N. L., Dunkel-Schetter, C., Lobel, M., & Scrimshaw, S. C. (1993). Social support in pregnancy: psychosocial correlates of birth outcomes and postpartum depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(6), 1243–1258.
Bell, J. F., Zimmerman, F. J., Almgren, G. R., Mayer, J. D., & Huebner, C. E. (2006). Birth outcomes among urban African-American women: A multilevel analysis of the role of racial residential segregation. Social Science and Medicine, 63, 3030–3045.
Zeigler-Hill, V. (2007). Contingent self-esteem and race: Implications for the Black self-esteem advantage. Journal of Black Psychology, 33(1), 51–74.
Twenge, J. M., & Crocker, J. (2002). Race and self-esteem: meta-analyses comparing whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians and comment on Gray-Little and Hafdahl (2000). Psychological Bulletin, 128(3), 371–408.
Norbeck, J. S., & Anderson, N. J. (1989). Psychosocial predictors of pregnancy outcomes in low-income Black, Hispanic and White women. Nursing Research, 38, 204–209.
Diaz, M. A., Le, H. N., Cooper, B. A., & Munoz, R. F. (2007). Interpersonal factors and perinatal depressive symptomatology in a low-income Latina sample. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(4), 328–336.
West, C., Kantor, G., & Janiski, J. (1998). Sociodemographic predictors and cultural barriers to help-seeking behavior by Latina and Anglo American battered women. Violence Victims, 13(4), 361–375.
Campos, B., Dunkel Schetter, C., & Abdou, C. (2008). Familialism, Social support, and stress: positive implications for pregnant Latinas. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14(2), 155–162.
Gee, C., McNerney, C., Reiter, M., & Leaman, S. (2007). Adolescent and young adult mothers’ relationship quality during the transition to parenthood: associations with father involvement in Fragile Families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 213–224.
Hanson, S., Morrison, D., & Ginsburg, A. (1989). The antecedents of teenage fatherhood. Demography, 26, 579–596.
Lichter, D. T., LeClere, F. B., & McLaughlin, D. K. (1991). Local marriage markets and the marital behavior of black and white women. American Journal of Sociology, 96(4), 843–867.
Clark, W. (1992). Residential preferences and residential choices in a multiethnic context. Demography, 29(3), 451–466.
Krysan, M., & Farley, R. (2002). The residential preferences of Blacks: Do they explain persistent segregation? Social Forces, 80(3), 937–980.
Vogt Yuan, A. S. (2008). Racial composition of neighborhood and emotional well-being. Sociological Spectrum, 28(1), 105–129.
Zubrinky, C., & Bobo, L. (1996). Prismatic metropolis: Race and residential segregation in the city of the angels. Social Science Research, 25, 335–374.
Jesse, E., Graham, M., & Swanson, M. (2006). Psychosocial and spiritual factors associated with smoking and substance use during pregnancy in African-American and White low-income women. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecological, & Neonatal Nursing, 35(1), 68–77.
Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. (2003). Mother’s baseline questionnaire. http://www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/documentation.asp.
Adams, M., Shulman, H., Bruce, C., Hogue, C., & Brogan, D. (1991). The pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system: design, questionnaire, data collection and response rates. PRAMS Working Group. Paediatric and Perinatology Epidemiology, 5, 333–346.
Buka, S., Brennan, R., Rich-Edwards, J., Raudenbush, S., & Earls, F. (2003). Neighborhood support and birth weight of urban infants. American Journal of Epidemiology, 157(1), 1–8.
Baumeister, L., Marchi, K., Pearl, M., Williams, R., & Braveman, P. (2000). The validity of information on ‘race’ and ‘Hispanic ethnicity’ in California birth certificate data. Health Services Research, 35, 869–883.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
Guzzo, K. B., & Furstenberg, F. F. J. (2007). Multipartnered fertility among American men. Demography, 44(3), 583–601.
Manning, W., & Smock, P. (2000). “Swapping” families: Serial parenting and economic support for children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 111–122.
Harknett, K., & Knab, J. (2007). More kin, less support: Multipartnered fertility and perceived support among mothers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69(1), 237–253.
Carlson, M. J., & Furstenberg, F. F. J. (2006). The prevalence and correlates of multipartnered fertility among urban US parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68(3), 718–732.
Carlson, M. J., McLanahan, S., & England, P. (2004). Union formation in fragile families. Demography, 41, 237–262.
Goldman, N., Kombro, R., Cassio, T., & Pebley, A. R. (2006). Socioeconomic gradients in health for White and Mexican-origin populations. American Journal of Public Health, 96(12), 2186–2193.
Lin, C. C., Rogot, E., Johnson, N. J., Sorlie, P. D., & Arias, E. (2003). A further study of life expectancy by socioeconomic factors in the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Ethnicity and Disease, 13(2), 240–247.
Almeida, J., Molnar, B. E., Kawachi, I., & Subramanian, S. V. (2009). Ethnicity and nativity status as determinants of perceived social support: Testing the concept of familism. Social Science and Medicine, 68(10), 1852–1858.
Vega, W., Kolody, B. (1985). The meaning of social support and the mediation of stress across cultures. In Vega, W. A., & Miranda, M. R. (eds), Stress and Hispanic mental health. (Vol. DHHS Publication No.85-1410). Washington, DC: National Institute of Mental Health.
Harley, K., & Eskenazi, B. (2006). Time in the United States, social support and health behaviors during pregnancy among women of Mexican descent. Social Science and Medicine, 62, 3048–3061.
Keefe, S., & Padilla, A. (1987). Chicano ethnicity. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Sundquist, J., & Winkleby, M. A. (1999). Cardiovascular risk factors in Mexican American adults: A transcultural analysis of NHANES III, 1988–1994. American Journal of Public Health, 89(5), 723–730.
Cagney, K. A., Browning, C. R., & Wallace, D. M. (2007). The Latino paradox in neighborhood context: the case of asthma and other respiratory conditions. American Journal of Public Health, 97(5), 919–925.
Peak, C., & Weeks, J. R. (2002). Does community context influence reproductive outcomes of Mexican origin women in San Diego, California? Journal of Immigrant Health, 4(3), 125–136.
Gibson, M. A. (1988). Punjabi orchard farmers: an immigrant enclave in rural California. International Migration Review, 22(1), 28–50.
Iceland, J., & Nelson, K. A. (2010). The residential segregation of mixed-nativity married couples. Demography, 47(4), 869–893.
Zhang, W., & Ta, V. M. (2009). Social connections, immigration-related factors, and self-rated physical and mental health among Asian Americans. Social Science and Medicine, 68(12), 2104–2112.
Ceballos, M., & Palloni, A. (2010). Maternal and infant health of Mexican immigrants in the USA: The effects of acculturation, duration, and selective return migration. Ethnic Health, 15(4), 377–396.
Acknowledgments
This project was made possible by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Grant # R40MC06635, the Los Angeles County Productivity and Investment fund, and the Los Angeles County Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Programs general grants and was completed in collaboration with 2007 LAMB Principal Investigator M.C. Lu. LW was supported by a Grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (T32 HS000083; Principal Investigator M. Smith). FW was supported by a Grant from the Health Disparities Research Training Program (T32 HD049302; Principal Investigator G. Sarto). We would like to thank the Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) study team (Chandra Higgins, Diana Liu, Marian Eldahaby, Carmen Gutierrez, Yvornia Horton, and Martha Martinez) for their dedicated work in the design and implementation of the 2007 LAMB project. We would also like to thank the Lifecourse Epidemiology and Family Health (LEAF) team for their incredible support with the editing of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wakeel, F., Witt, W.P., Wisk, L.E. et al. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Personal Capital During Pregnancy: Findings from the 2007 Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) Study. Matern Child Health J 18, 209–222 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-013-1256-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-013-1256-3