Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

First Advisor

Pilyoung Kim

Second Advisor

Sarah Watamura

Third Advisor

Julia Dmitrieva

Fourth Advisor

Daniel Brisson

Keywords

Brain development, Brain structure, Longitudinal, Socioeconomic status

Abstract

Socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood has been associated with difficulties in physical and mental health later in life. A potential pathway underlying this association is through variations in brain development. While associations between concurrent socioeconomic disadvantage and brain structural development have been established, it is unclear if there are prospective associations between childhood disadvantage and brain structure later in life (adulthood). The following studies address these gaps in the knowledge by examining the prospective association between childhood socioeconomic status and brain structure in adulthood. Study One examines the association between average family income across childhood and brain structural morphometry in adulthood. This study found a positive association, primarily for surface area, in the rostral and caudal middle frontal gyri. Study Two examine childhood socioeconomic (age 9) and white matter organization in adulthood and found positive associations in the uncinate fasciculus and cingulum bundle. These studies suggest the prospective association between childhood disadvantage and adult brain structure is long-lasting and highlight the importance of eliminating poverty in childhood.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Alexander J. Dufford

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

82 p.

Discipline

Developmental psychology

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