Racial and ethnic disparities in personal capital during pregnancy: findings from the 2007 Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) study

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.

Figure 1

Construction and Distribution of Personal Capital, 2007 Los Angeles Mommy and Baby (LAMB) Study The personal capital score was created using a weighting scheme based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and comprised internal resources, partner support, social network support, and neighborhood support. Proximal resources were weighed more heavily than distal resources as they were posited to have a larger and more direct impact on the individual. As such, internal resources, partner support, social network support, and neighborhood support comprised 32.5%, 27.5%, 22.5%, and 17.5%, respectively, of the overall score. Therefore, the figure graphically depicts how each component was weighted and then summed to create the composite measure of personal capital. The weighted personal capital score was standardized to range from 1 to 100, with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10; the histogram illustrates the distribution of the standardized personal capital scores within our sample of women (n=3,716) from the 2007 LAMB study.