Black-White Disparity in Child Hyperactivity-Inattention Problems in Families Living Without Sufficient Foods.

Empirical evidence has consistently documented Black–White disparities in household economic and material resources. Less is known, however, about whether these disparities extend to food insecurity and its direct and indirect effects on children’s hyperactivity–inattention symptoms through caregiver psychological distress. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which followed 400 Black children (Mage=7.3; SD = 2.8; 49.3% female) and 688 White children (Mage=7.4; SD = 3.0; 49.9% female) from 2019 to 2021 in the United States, we applied mediation analyses with generalized propensity score weighting to support causal inference examining these relationships. Results indicate that the direct effect of lower food security on hyperactivity–inattention is statistically significant among Black children but not among White children. Conversely, the indirect effect, operating through caregiver psychological distress, is significant among White children but not among Black children. Postestimation analyses further reveal that the impact strength is greater for Black children through the direct effect than for White children through the indirect effect. These findings suggest that racial disparities in child behavioral outcomes arise not only from differences in material hardship but also from the mechanisms through which such hardship affects child development. By targeting both material and non-material dimensions of well-being rather than either alone, such approaches may more effectively buffer children from behavioral risks such as hyperactivity-inattention problems associated with structural inequities.