The Influences of Socioeconomic Status on Achievement and Neurocognition in Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to an individual's place in society (Hackman et al., 2000), and there has been much research examining looking at the strong influence SES has through the life span. This study aimed to assess the effect SES has on children's neurocognitive and academic abilities with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Structural equation analyses revealed a latent construct of SES measured by self-reported income, income by zip code, father's education, respondent's education, and free/reduced lunch to have a direct effect on adolescents with T1DM youth neurocognitive ( = .46, p = < .001) and academic abilities ( = .35, p = < .001). Cogstate assessments measuring processing speed, working memory, and visual attention comprised the latent construct neurocognitive abilities I. WJ-III-NU Achievement scores on subtest measured the latent construct academic abilities: Letter-Word Identification, Passage Comprehension, and Reading Fluency, Calculation and Math Fluency, Spelling and Writing Fluency. Low SES coupled with a chronic medical condition like T1DM, may lead to an even greater vulnerability in school outcomes. The differences in academic and neurocognitive performance urge researchers, school personnel, and health officials to understand the long-lasting effects SES-associated disparities have on children with T1DM.