Interplay of socioeconomic status, cognition, and school performance in the ABCD sample

This study investigates the interaction between socioeconomic status (SES) and cognitive abilities in their effect on school grades. Using data from 5001 participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, ordinal logistic regression models revealed that parental education and income-to-needs ratio were consistently associated with grades, regardless of cognitive ability. Neighborhood deprivation was significant only when cognitive ability wasn't considered. A significant interaction was found between parental education and cognitive ability, suggesting that higher cognitive ability may buffer the effects of lower parental education on grades. The study concludes that while SES significantly influences grades, cognitive ability may play a moderating role.

Lara Langensee, Theodor Rumetshofer, Johan Mårtensson