Abstract
Regular contact with people from another racial or ethnic group can have physiological benefits. The present research explored whether these benefits extend to children who live in families with greater intergroup contact. Specifically, it investigated whether children with asthma had better pulmonary function if their parents reported having more people in their social network who were of a different race or ethnicity, and whether this relationship was moderated by the quality of the relationship between children and their parents. Consistent with hypotheses, results showed that the percentage of people in parents’ social networks who were of a different race or ethnicity predicted better pulmonary function among children who reported higher quality relationships with their parents, but not among children who reported lower quality relationships. Thus, the racial/ethnic diversity of parents’ social networks may play a role in protecting children’s health, particularly when children are close to their parents.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ainbami, L. J., Moorman, J. E., & Liu, X. (2011). Asthma prevalence, health care use, and mortality: United States, 2005–2009. National Center for Health Statistics Reports, 32, 1–15.
American Thoracic Society. (2004). Standards for the diagnosis and management of participants with COPD. New York: American Thoracic Society.
Amodio, D. M. (2008). The social neuroscience of intergroup relations. European Review of Social Psychology, 19, 1–54. doi:10.1080/10463280801927937.
Apfelbaum, E. P., Norton, M. I., & Sommers, S. R. (2012). Racial colorblindness: Emergence, practice, and implications. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 205–209. doi:10.1177/0963721411434980.
Aron, A., Mellinat, E., Aron, E. N., Vallone, R. J., & Bator, R. J. (1997). The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: A procedure and some preliminary findings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 363–377. doi:10.1177/0146167297234003.
Bacharier, L. B., Strunk, R. C., Mauger, D., White, D., Lemanske, R. F., & Sorkness, C. A. (2004). Classifying asthma severity in children: Mismatch between symptoms, medication use, and lung function. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care, 170, 426–432. doi:10.1164/rccm.200308-1178OC.
Bahadori, K., Doyle-Waters, M. M., Marra, C., Lynd, L., Alasaly, K., Swiston, J., et al. (2009). Economic burden of asthma: A systematic review. BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 9, 24. doi:10.1186/1471-2466-9-24.
Ball-Rokeach, S. J., & Loges, W. E. (1994). Choosing equality: The correspondence between attitudes about race and the value of equality. Journal of Social Issues, 50, 9–18. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb01195.x.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
Bigler, R. S., & Liben, L. S. (2007). Developmental intergroup theory: Explaining and reducing children’s social stereoty** and prejudice. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 162–166. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00496.x.
Bindman, A. B., Grumbach, K., Osmond, D., Komaromy, M., Vranizan, K., Lurie, N., et al. (1995). Preventable hospitalizations and access to health care. Journal of the American Medical Associations, 274, 305–311. doi:10.1001/jama.1995.03530040033037.
Blascovich, J., Mendes, W. B., Hunter, S. B., Lickel, B., & Kowai-Bell, N. (2001). Perceiver threat in social interactions with stigmatized others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 253–267. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.2.253.
Bloom, B., Jones, L. I., Freeman, G. (2013). Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National Health Interview Survey, 2012. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Statistics.
Boulware, L. E., Cooper, L. A., Ratner, L. E., LaVeist, T. A., & Powe, N. R. (2003). Race and trust in the health care system. Public Health Reports, 118, 358–365.
Bretherton, I., Golby, B., & Cho, E. (1997). Attachment and the transmission of values. In J. E. Grusec & L. Kuczynski (Eds.), Parenting and children’ s internalization of values: A handbook of contemporary theory (pp. 103–134). New York: Wiley.
Brody, G. H., Conger, R., Gibbons, F. X., Ge, X., Murry, V. M., Gerrard, M., et al. (2001). The influence of neighborhood disadvantage, collective socialization, and parenting on African American children’s affiliation with deviant peers. Child Development, 72, 1231–1246. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00344.
Brunst, K. J., & Wright, R. J. (2016). Social disparities in lung growth and respiratory health. In L. B. Gerald & C. E. Berry (Eds.), Health disparities in respiratory medicine (pp. 147–171). New York: Humana Press.
Carr, P. B., Dweck, C. S., & Pauker, K. (2012). “Prejudiced” behavior without prejudice? Beliefs about the malleability of prejudice affect interracial interactions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103, 452–471. doi:10.1037/a0028849.
Castelli, L., De Dea, C., & Nesdale, D. (2008). Learning social attitudes: Children’s sensitivity to the nonverbal behaviors of adult models during interracial interactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1504–1513. doi:10.1177/0146167208322769.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). National Center for Health Statistics: National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics.
Chen, E., Chim, L. S., Strunk, R. S., & Miller, G. E. (2007). The role of the social environment in children and adolescents with asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 176, 644–649. doi:10.1164/rccm.200610-1473OC.
Chen, E., Hanson, M. D., Paterson, L. Q., Griffin, M. J., Walker, H. A., & Miller, G. E. (2006). Socioeconomic status and inflammatory processes in childhood asthma: The role of psychological stress. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 117, 1014–1020. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2006.01.036.
Chen, E., & Miller, G. E. (2007). Stress and inflammation in exacerbation of asthma. Brain Behavior and Immunity, 21, 993–999. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2007.03.009.
Chen, E., & Schreier, H. M. C. (2008). Does the social environment contribute to asthma? Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, 28, 649–664. doi:10.1016/j.iac.2008.03.007.
Chung, K. F., & Barnes, P. J. (1999). Cytokines in asthma. Thorax, 54, 825–857. doi:10.1136/thx.54.9.825.
De Silva, M. J., & Harpham, T. (2007). Maternal social capital and child nutritional status in four develo** countries. Health and Place, 13, 341–355. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2006.02.005.
Deville, C., Hwang, W.-T., Burgos, R., Chapman, C. H., Both, S., & Thomas, C. R. (2015). Diversity in graduate medical education in the United States by race, ethnicity, and sex, 2012. JAMA Internal Medicine, 175, 1706. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.4324.
Dovidio, J. F., Gaertner, S. L., & Kawakami, K. (2003). Intergroup contact: The past, preset, and the future. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 6, 5–21. doi:10.1177/1368430203006001009.
Edmonds, C., & Killen, M. (2009). Do adolescents’ perceptions of parental racial attitudes relate to their intergroup contact and cross-race relationships? Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 12, 5–21. doi:10.1177/1368430208098773.
Ehrlich, K. B., Miller, G. E., & Chen, E. (2015a). Family functioning, eosinophil activity, and symptoms in children with asthma. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 40, 781–789. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsv045.
Ehrlich, K. B., Miller, G. E., & Chen, E. (2015b). Harsh parent–child conflict is associated with decreased anti-inflammatory gene expression and increased symptom severity in children with asthma. Development and Psychopathology, 27, 1547–1554. doi:10.1017/S0954579415000930.
Espinoza, G., Gonzales, N. A., & Fuligni, A. J. (in press). Parent discrimination predicts Mexican-American adolescent psychological adjustment 1 year later. Child Development. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12521
Mackay, I. R., Rosen, F. S., Busse, W. W., & Lemanske, R. F. (2001). Asthma. New England Journal of Medicine, 344, 350–362. doi:10.1056/NEJM200102013440507.
Marin, A., & Hampton, K. N. (2007). Simplifying the personal network name generator: Alternatives to traditional multiple and single name generators. Field Methods, 19, 163–193. doi:10.1177/1525822X06298588.
Markus, H. R., & Conner, A. (2014). Clash! how to thrive in a multicultural world. New York, NY: Plume.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2010). Cultures and selves: A cycle of mutual constitution. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 420–430. doi:10.1177/1745691610375557.
Meeusen, C. (2014). The parent-child similarity in cross-group friendship and anti-immigrant prejudice: A study among 15-year old adolescents. Journal of Research in Personality, 50, 46–55. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2014.03.001.
Mendoza-Denton, R., & Page-Gould, E. (2008). Can cross-group friendships influence minority students’ well-being at historically White universities? Psychological Science, 19, 933–939. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02179.x.
Migacheva, K., & Tropp, L. R. (2012). Learning orientation as a predictor of positive intergroup contact. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 16, 426–444. doi:10.1177/1368430212455854.
Miller, G. E., Chen, E., & Parker, K. J. (2011). Psychological stress in childhood and susceptibility to the chronic diseases of aging: Moving toward a model of behavioral and biological mechanisms. Psychological Bulletin, 137, 959–997. doi:10.1037/a0024768.
Miller, G. E., Gaudin, A., Zysk, E., & Chen, E. (2009). Parental support and cytokine activity in childhood asthma: The role of glucocorticoid sensitivity. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 123, 824–830. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2008.12.019.
Miller, M. R., Hankinson, J., Brusasco, V., Burgos, F., Casaburi, R., Coates, A., et al. (2005). Standardisation of spirometry. European Respiratory Journal, 26, 319–338.
Miller, B. D., & Wood, B. L. (1994). Psychophysiologic reactivity in asthmatic children: A cholinergically mediated confluence of pathways. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 1236–1245. doi:10.1097/00004583-199411000-00004.
Moonie, S. A., Sterling, D. A., Figgs, L., & Castro, M. (2006). Asthma status and severity affects missed school days. Journal of School Health, 76, 18–24. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2006.00062.x.
Mrazek, D. A., Klinnert, M., Mrazek, P. J., Brower, A., McCormick, D., Rubin, B., et al. (1999). Prediction of early-onset asthma in genetically at-risk children. Pediatric Pulmonology, 27, 85–94. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0496(199902)27:2<85:AID-PPUL4>3.0.CO;2-B.
Murphy, M. C., Richeson, J. A., & Molden, D. C. (2011). Leveraging motivational mindsets to foster positive interracial interactions. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5, 118–131. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00338.x.
Nobles, J., & Frankenberg, E. (2009). Mothers’ community participation and child health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 50, 16–30. doi:10.1177/002214650905000102.
Nusslock, R., & Miller, G. E. (2015). Early-life adversity and physical and emotional health across the lifespan: A neuroimmune network hypothesis. Biological Psychiatry, 80, 23–32. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.05.017.
Page-Gould, E., Mendes, W. B., & Major, B. (2010). Intergroup contact facilitates physiological recovery following stressful intergroup interactions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 854–858. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2010.04.006.
Page-Gould, E., Mendoza-Denton, R., & Tropp, L. R. (2008). With a little help from my cross-group friend: Reducing anxiety in intergroup contexts through cross-group friendship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1080–1094. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.95.5.1080.
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2008). How does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Meta-analytic tests of three mediatiors. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 922–934. doi:10.1002/ejsp.504.
Piette, J., Heisler, M., Krein, S., & Kerr, E. (2005). The role of patient-physician trust in moderating medication nonadherence due to cost pressures. JAMA Internal Medicine, 165, 1749–1755. doi:10.1001/archinte.165.15.1749.
Plaut, V. C. (2010). Diversity science: Why and how difference makes a difference. Psychological Inquiry, 21, 77–99. doi:10.1080/10478401003676501.
Purdie-Vaughns, V., Steele, C. M., Davies, P. G., Ditlmann, R., & Crosby, J. R. (2008). Social identity contingencies: How diversity cues signal threat or safety for African Americans in mainstream institutions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 615–630. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.94.4.615.
Rand, C. S., Butz, A. M., Kolodner, K., Huss, K., Eggleston, P., & Malveaux, F. (2000). Emergency department visits by urban African American children with asthma. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 105, 83–90. doi:10.1016/S0091-6749(00)90182-9.
Richeson, J. A., & Shelton, J. N. (2007). Negotiating interracial interactions: Costs, consequences, and possibilities. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 316–320. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00528.x.
Rostilla, M. (2010). Birds of a feather flock together—and fall ill? Migrant homophily and health in Sweden. Sociology of Health and Illness, 32, 382–399. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9566.2009.01196.x.
Shelton, J. N., & Richeson, J. A. (2006). Interracial interactions: A relational approach. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 121–181.
Shelton, J. N., Richeson, J. A., & Salvatore, J. (2005). Expecting to be the target of prejudice: Implications for interethnic interactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 1189–1202. doi:10.1177/0146167205274894.
Shoff, C., & Yang, T. (2012). Untangling the associations among distrust, race, and neighborhood environment: A social disorganization perspective. Social Science and Medicine, 74, 1342–1352. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.01.012.
Sinclair, S., Dunn, E., & Lowery, B. (2005). The relationship between parental racial attitudes and children’s implicit prejudice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 283–289. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2004.06.003.
Stepanikova, I., Mollborn, S., Cook, K. S., Thom, D. H., & Kramer, R. M. (2006). Patients’ race, ethnicity, language, and trust in a physician. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47, 390–405. doi:10.1177/002214650604700406.
Stephan, W. G., & Renfro, C. L. (2002). The role of threat in intergroup relations. In D. M. Mackie & E. R. Smith (Eds.), From prejudice to intergroup emotions: Differentiated reactions to social groups (pp. 191–207). New York: Psychology Press.
Sujarwoto, S., & Tampubolon, G. (2013). Mother’s social capital and child health in Indonesia. Social Science and Medicine, 91, 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.04.032.
Taras, H., & Potts-Datema, W. (2005). Childhood asthma and student performance at school. Journal of School Health, 75, 296–312. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2005.00041.x.
Uno, D., Uchino, B. N., & Smith, T. W. (2002). Relationship quality moderates the effect of social support given by close friends on cardiovascular reactivity in women. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 9, 243–263. doi:10.1207/S15327558IJBM0903_06.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2012). U.S. Census Bureau projections show a slower growing, older, more diverse nation half a century from now. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb12-243.html
Vorauer, J. D., & Kumhyr, S. M. (2001). Is this about you or me? Self- versus other-directed judgments and feelings in response to intergroup interaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 706–709. doi:10.1177/0146167201276006.
Wang, X. B., Dockery, D. W., Wypij, D., Fay, M. E., & Ferris, B. G. (1993). Pulmonary function between 6 and 18 years of age. Pediatric Pulmonology, 15, 75–88. doi:10.1002/ppul.1950150204.
Weil, C. M., Wade, S. L., Bauman, L. J., Lynn, H., Mitchell, H., & Lavigne, J. (1999). The relationship between psychosocial factors and asthma morbidity in inner-city children with asthma. Pediatrics, 104, 1274–1280. doi:10.1542/peds.104.6.1274.
Wolf, J. M., Miller, G. E., & Chen, E. (2008). Parent psychological states predict changes in inflammatory markers in children with asthma and healthy children. Brain Behavior and Immunity, 22, 433–441. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2007.10.016.
Wood, B. L., Miller, B. D., & Legman, H. K. (2015). Review of family relational stress and pediatric asthma: The value of biopsychosocial systemic models. Family Processes, 54, 376–389. doi:10.1111/famp.12139.
Wright, R. J., Cohen, S., Carey, V., Weiss, S. T., & Gold, D. R. (2002). Parental stress as a predictor of wheezing in infancy: A prospective birth-cohort study. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 165, 358–365. doi:10.1164/ajrccm.165.3.2102016.
Wright, R. J., Rodriguez, M., & Cohen, S. (1998). Review of psychosocial stress and asthma: an integrated biopsychosocial approach. Thorax, 53, 1066–1074. doi:10.1136/thx.53.12.1066.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (HL108723) to Edith Chen, a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (F32HL119021) to Cynthia S. Levine, and a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (F31MH105092) to Erika M. Manczak.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levine, C.S., Manczak, E.M., Ham, P.J. et al. The relationship between parents’ social network diversity and pulmonary function among children with asthma. Cult. Brain 5, 71–89 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40167-016-0042-7
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40167-016-0042-7