Dual ecological-cultural pathways of sociocultural environment and resting state functional connectivity among Hispanic adolescents in the ABCD Study
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: ABSTRACT Hispanic Americans face persistent health disparities rooted in complex sociocultural and bioecodevelopmental dynamics. Identifying early neurodevelopmental trajectories that confer risk or resilience during adolescence is critical for developing targeted health equity interventions. Grounded in the NIMHD Research Framework and bioecodevelopmental theory, data from 12- to 14-year-old Hispanic adolescents in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study were analyzed (n=236). Partial least squares correlation (PLSC) was used to evaluate multivariate associations between sociocultural measures—spanning individual, family, and community levels—and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) networks. Post hoc linear mixed-effects models examined how derived sociocultural-rsFC patterns predicted measures of physical and mental health, linking bioecodevelopmental patterns to adolescent well-being. PLSC revealed dual community- and family-level neural pathways of biological embedding, diverging from traditional nested bioecodevelopmental assumptions. The community pathway linked child opportunity and neighborhood disadvantage to connectivity across Cingulo-Opercular, Default, Dorsal Attention, Visual Networks. This community-rsFC profile was associated with lower respiratory functioning, reflecting an allostatic load marker of environmental stress. The family pathway linked caregiver ethnic identity and heritage acculturation to Default, Ventral Attention, Sensorimotor-Mouth, and Visual Networks connectivity, suggesting that the family system shapes neural systems underlying social attunement and identity formation. Structural community factors and familial culture impose distinct neurobiological demands on the adolescent connectome among Hispanic youth. Findings highlight respiratory health as a biological marker of environmental adversity and underscore the necessity of structural and culturally sustaining interventions to promote health equity among Hispanic youth.
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: Urban air pollution and neurobehavioral trajectories in the ABCD study, The role of air pollution in emotional neurodevelopment and risk for psychiatric disorders, 4/21 ABCD-USA CONSORTIUM: RESEARCH PROJECT SITE AT FIU, Neurodevelopment of executive function, appetite regulation, and obesity in children and adolescents, Southern California Center for Chronic Health Disparities in Latino Children and Families.
OpenAlex ID: W7221014251