Diminished Economic Return of Socioeconomic Status for Black Families

Assari, Shervin

doi:10.3390/socsci7050074

Cited by 42 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Our finding regarding larger effects of history of non-fatal physical assault on risk of mortality in Whites compared to Blacks agrees with other research showing risk and protective factors have stronger effects for Whites than Blacks [20,55], a pattern which is frequently shown for physical and mental health outcomes ( [9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][56][57][58][59][60][61]; see References [20,55] for a review). Stronger effects of low education [17], unemployment [12], poor neighborhood quality [11], depression [16,18,19,62,63], hostility and anger [64], low sense of self efficacy [14], and low perception of control over life [65] were shown for Whites than Blacks.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

History of Non-Fatal Physical Assault Is Associated with Premature Mortality for Whites but Not Blacks

Assari

Haidar

2018

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Exposure to trauma increases the long-term risk of mortality, and experiencing non-fatal physical assault is not an exception. To better understand population heterogeneity in this link, the current study explored Black-White differences in the association between history of non-fatal physical assault and risk of all-cause mortality over a 25-year period in the United States. Data came from the Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) study that followed 3617 non-institutionalized respondents for up to 25 years. History of non-fatal physical assault at baseline was the predictor. Outcome was time to death due to all-cause mortality during follow-up from baseline (1986) to follow-up (2011). Confounders included gender, age, and baseline socio-economic status (education and income), health behaviors (smoking and drinking), and health status (chronic medical conditions, self-rated health, and body mass index). Race was the moderator. Cox regressions were used for multi-variable analysis. History of non-fatal physical assault at baseline was associated with an increased risk of mortality, above and beyond baseline socioeconomic status, health behaviors, and health status. Race interacted with history of non-fatal physical assault on mortality, suggesting a stronger effect for Whites compared to Blacks. In race-specific models, history of non-fatal physical assault was associated with risk of mortality for Whites but not Blacks. The current study showed that experiencing non-fatal physical assault increases the risk of premature death above and beyond demographics, socioeconomic status, health behaviors, and health status. Experiencing non-fatal physical assault may have a larger effect on premature mortality among Whites than Blacks. Future research is needed on how Blacks and Whites differ in the health consequences of social adversities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

History of Non-Fatal Physical Assault Is Associated with Premature Mortality for Whites but Not Blacks

Assari

Haidar

2018

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“…One of the mechanisms of the MDRs is that high education level has a smaller effect on reducing the risk of poverty for AAs, compared to EAs [57,94]. Another mechanism is that high SEP AAs face more not less discrimination [111][112][113][114][115][116][117].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Education Level Protects European Americans But Not African Americans Against Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: National Health Interview Survey

Assari¹,

Chalian²,

Bazargan³

2019

IJBECS

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Background: Education level reduces the risk of chronic diseases (CDs), including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Minorities' Diminished Returns, however, refer to smaller health benefits of socioeconomic position (SEP) improvement for racial and ethnic minorities compared to majority groups. It is not known if MDRs exist for the effects of education level on COPD for African Americans (AAs), relative to European Americans (EAs). Aims: Using a nationally representative sample, the current study explored racial and ethnic variation in the association between education level and COPD among American adults. Methods: Data came from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS 2015), a national survey. A total of 25,488 adults (18+ years old) were included in the study. From this number, 4,533 (17.8%) were AAs and 20,955 (82.2%) were EAs. Education level was the independent variable. COPD was the outcome. Age, gender, and income were the covariates. Race/ethnicity was the moderator. Results: Overall, education level was inversely associated with the odds of COPD. A statistically significant interaction was found between race/ethnicity and education level on odds of COPD, indicating smaller effect of education for AAs compared to EAs. Conclusions: In line with the Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs), highly educated AAs remained at high risk for COPD, a pattern which is not observed for EAs. Policies that exclusively address racial/ethnic inequalities in SEP may not be enough for eliminating racial/ethnic inequalities in COPD in the US. Public policies must go beyond equalizing SEP and address structural and environmental barriers that disproportionately increase risk of COPD in AAs across SEP levels. Future research should test if residential segregation and exposure to air pollutants contributes to high prevalence of COPD in highly educated AAs. Research is needed on multi-level interventions that may minimize MDR-related health disparities.

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“…Supporting an economic explanation, empirical research has shown that education generates less income for African Americans than Whites [60,61]. This is also understandable given preferences and practices of labor market and availability of job market and lower quality of education in urban areas [66].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workplace Racial Composition Explains High Perceived Discrimination of High Socioeconomic Status African American Men

2018

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Background: Sociological and epidemiological literature have both shown that socioeconomic status (SES) protects populations and individuals against health problems. Recent research, however, has shown that African Americans gain less from their SES and African Americans of high SES, particularly males, may be vulnerable to perceived discrimination, as explained by the Minorities’ Diminished Returns theory. One potential mechanism for this phenomenon is that high SES African Americans have a higher tendency to work in predominantly White workplaces, which increases their perceived discrimination. It is, however, unknown if the links between SES, working in predominantly White work groups and perceived discrimination differ for male and female African Americans. Aim: To test the associations between SES, workplace racial composition and perceived discrimination in a nationally representative sample of male and female African American adults. Methods. This study included a total number of 1775 employed African American adults who were either male (n = 676) or female (n = 1099), all enrolled from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). The study measured gender, age, SES (educational attainment and household income), workplace racial composition and perceived discrimination. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied in the overall sample and also by gender. Results: In the pooled sample that included both genders, high education and household income were associated with working in a predominantly White work group, which was in turn associated with more perceived discrimination. We did not find gender differences in the associations between SES, workplace racial composition and perceived discrimination. Conclusion: Although racial composition of workplace may be a mechanism by which high SES increases discriminatory experiences for African Americans, males and females may not differ in this regard. Policies are needed to reduce discrimination in racially diverse workplaces. This is particularly the case for African Americans who work in predominantly White work environments.

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Diminished Economic Return of Socioeconomic Status for Black Families

Cited by 42 publications

References 50 publications

History of Non-Fatal Physical Assault Is Associated with Premature Mortality for Whites but Not Blacks

History of Non-Fatal Physical Assault Is Associated with Premature Mortality for Whites but Not Blacks

High Education Level Protects European Americans But Not African Americans Against Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: National Health Interview Survey

Workplace Racial Composition Explains High Perceived Discrimination of High Socioeconomic Status African American Men

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