Multivariate, transgenerational associations of the COVID-19 pandemic across minoritized and marginalized communities

Researchers herein investigated the baseline pre–COVID-19 pandemic household factors that are linked with COVID-19 experiences, as defined by child and parent report, using a multivariate pattern-learning framework from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort.

• In ABCD, which is an ongoing prospective longitudinal study of child and adolescent development in the United States, 11,875 youths were enrolled at age 9 to 10 years.

• Researchers developed a multivariate pattern-learning strategy using nationally collected longitudinal profiling data from 9,267 families to determine factor combinations linked with transgenerational costs of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

• A total of 9,267 youth-parent dyads with more than 17,000 variables were included.

• Social determinants of inequity, including household income and family structure, were identified as the primary associates of negative COVID-19 experiences, including elevated difficulties with school among children and concerns over racism linked with the COVID-19 pandemic among parents.

• Findings reveal the necessity for community-level, transgenerational intervention strategies to combat the disproportionate burden of pandemics on minoritized and marginalized racial and ethnic populations.