Distinct effects of early-stage and late-stage socioeconomic factors on brain and behavioral traits

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a time-varying multidimensional construct with ill-defined dimension-specific and age-specific effects on brain and behavior. We investigated these effects in 4,228 young adults. From 16 socioeconomic indicators, assessed for early (0–10 years) and late (>10 years) stages, we constructed family, provincial, family adverse and neighborhood adverse socioeconomic dimensions. Generally, family SES was associated with brain structure and connectivity along with cognitive function, whereas family adverse and neighborhood adverse SES were associated with personality and emotion. Most associations were observed for both early and late-stage SES; however, adjusting for the effect of early stage SES revealed late-stage-specific SES effects. Changes in SES were associated with personality and cognitive function. Cerebellar and medial frontal volumes and functional connectivity within the left frontoparietal network mediated the associations between family SES and memory and openness. These results inform both more precise interventions for reducing the consequences of adverse SES and experimental designs for excluding confounding socioeconomic effects on human health.