Racial Composition in K-12 Schooling and Cognitive Health of Older Black Adults

Systemic educational factors have implications for cognitive health across the life course. Due to de jure and de factor racial segregation in the United States (U.S.), K-12 school quality varies by racial composition, which we hypothesize contributes to higher risk of Alzheimers disease and related dementias among non-Hispanic Black (NHB) older adults. This study adopts a life course perspective to investigate the association between K-12 schools racial composition and later-in-life cognitive health among U.S.- born and educated NHB older adults in the Health and Retirement Study (N=2,105). Using the 2015, 2017, and 2019 Life History Mail Survey, we categorized racial composition of K-12 schools as only majority non-Hispanic White (NHW) schools (n=193), only majority NHB schools (n=1,387), or both school types (n=525). Multiple linear regressions assessed relationships between school racial composition and total cognition, episodic memory, and vocabulary, controlling for age, gender, childhood factors, and U.S. region of residence at age 10. Attending only NHW schools or both school types was associated with better total cognition (p<.01 and p<.001, respectively) and episodic memory (p<.05 and p<.01, respectively) than attending only NHB schools. Attending both school types was also associated with better vocabulary (p<.0001). Structural equation models revealed that 45-66% of these associations were mediated by participants educational attainment. Our findings highlight the long-term cognitive benefits of attending some NHW schools and underscore the need for initiatives promoting equity in NHB schools. Further, our findings suggest bicultural education may provide language benefits, despite potential interpersonal discrimination toward NHB students.