9/16 Reading Response

        After completing the coursework for this week’s class, I am left wanting to know more about the links between early childhood experiences (as well as prenatal experiences) and the trajectory of one’s life. This line of thinking started first with my viewing of the episode “In Sickness and in Wealth” from the TV series, Unnatural Causes. Essentially, this episode demonstrates that in America there is an insidious connection between one’s socioeconomic status, race, and life expectancy. Early on in the episode the narrator shares that with diseases like “diabetes--low income Americans have twice the rate of disease as the affluent and for those in the middle classes it’s still almost twice the rate. A similar pattern holds true for stroke [and] heart disease” (11:35-11:46). Essentially then, people with low socioeconomic statuses are at a higher risk for chronic diseases. According to the episode, the reason for the disproportionate rates of illness among social classes is strongly linked to the level of access (or lack thereof) a person has to resources (like healthcare, education, stable housing, healthy food, etc.) throughout their life, but most notably, during their childhood. For example, later on in the episode Dr. Cohen explains how his virus study determined that a predictor of one’s ability to fight off a virus was if one grew up in a home that their parents’ owned. Cohen summarizes his findings by sharing that growing up in a home that one’s parent’s owned “is a great predictor…  That is, the more years their parents owned their home, the less likely they are to get a cold when we expose them to a virus. All of it really comes down to whether you're building a strong or weak foundation in early childhood” (39:08-39:22).

        I found that Cohen’s study connected most directly with the second reading, “Thinking About Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Impacts Through a Science-Informed, Early Childhood Lens” by Jack P. Shonkoff. and David R. Williams. Similar to Cohen’s study, Shonkoff and Williams discuss how one’s prior life experiences, particularly childhood experiences, influence the rate at which one is susceptible to sickness, more specifically, COVID-19. For example, they write:

“variability in susceptibility is a common feature of many diseases and is highly influenced by the environments in which we live. For example, there is increasing evidence that health-threatening conditions early in life—including poor nutrition, exposure to pollutants, and excessive family stress associated with poverty, racism, and other forms of economic or social disadvantage—can have disruptive effects on developing immune and metabolic systems that lead to greater risk for a variety of chronic health impairments well into the adult years (with cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart conditions, as well as diabetes, near the top of that list). Put simply, the structural legacies of racism and other cross-generational traumas may be linked to levels of chronic stress that increase susceptibility to the kinds of health impairments that result in greater risk of harm from COVID-19. Evidence is also mounting that the origins of these common diseases are affected by significant adversity during the prenatal period and first 2-3 years after birth” (para 5).  

        Simply put, one’s prior life experiences during childhood are extremely influential and thereby are a crucial factor in one’s overall health (both mentally and physically) later on in life. And so, I came to the final reading, “When Blackness is a Pre-Existing Condition” by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, with childhood experiences on the forefront of my brain. Although Crenshaw’s piece appears to focus more on the adult experience of black people in America and how black people are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19 due to pre-existing conditions brought on by years of systemic inequity (not personal choices), her article also demonstrates yet again how childhood experiences, and the lack of control one has over their life during these years, can lead to a greater susceptibility for illness (specifically here, COVID-19) if they have experienced a great amount of inequities, or what could also be classified as Adverse Childhood Experiences (also known as ACEs).

        Essentially then, Crenshaw’s piece uses current and past examples of mass influence (such as the COVID-19 outbreak, Hurricane Katrina, the passing of the GI Bill, and many more examples) to demonstrate how our nation has historically marginalized people of color and through this ongoing structural marginalization, have slated generations to lives filled with susceptibilities, all before they even have any direct control over their lives.

        In sum, this week’s sources have led me to think more deeply about the way our society protects our youth via systems, such as health care and education. Clearly, our youth that are growing up in households with low socioeconomic statuses are predisposed to chronic, life-altering health conditions at a higher rate than those growing up in households with higher tax brackets. Moreover, when one considers race, the disparities widen with black and brown youth faring worse than their white counterparts. This is also true for Latino youth, as was learned in last week’s reading, “Coronavirus strikes Latino families” by Miranda Green, in which Green writes “[m]any Latino communities in the counties lack access to basic health care and have health conditions such as asthma, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity” (para 15).  

        As I move forward in this course, I want to be more critical of how I analyze and understand the function of social systems, more particularly in how the operation of these systems affect our youth. Additionally, I want to be more intentional of considering the 5 Ws when thinking about a social structure or systems:

Who is the system created for? (And who is it not created for?) 

What is the purpose of the system/ structure? (And what is not the purpose?) 

When did the system/ structure get created? (And when, if at all, did it change?) 

Where does this system/structure exist? (And where does it not exist?) 

Why was this system/ structure created? (And why not ______ instead?) 

With these questions, I hope to gain a deeper insight of how systems/ structures work and *hopefully* gain a better sense of where change can occur.