Perceived status threat and health among White Americans: A scoping review

Whiteness hurts society: How whiteness shapes mental, physical, and social health outcomes

“…Moreover, a recent scoping review also reveals that perceived social status threat can harm White Americans' health in ways beyond mortality (Efird et al, 2023a). For example, some White Americans' self-rated health and mental health are adversely affected by perceived (or actual) threats involving societal conditions, interpersonal social experiences, and individual social standing (Efird et al, 2023a). Kwate and Goodman (2014) present another way that whiteness yields negative implications for White people's health.…”

“…A perceived decline in relative racial group status is, in turn, associated with worsening mortality and increased deaths of despair among White Americans (Siddiqi et al., 2019). Moreover, a recent scoping review also reveals that perceived social status threat can harm White Americans’ health in ways beyond mortality (Efird et al., 2023a). For example, some White Americans’ self‐rated health and mental health are adversely affected by perceived (or actual) threats involving societal conditions, interpersonal social experiences, and individual social standing (Efird et al., 2023a).…”

“…Psychologists can create validated scales to systematically investigate how whiteness shapes White Americans’ health. For example, we know that White Americans can exhibit a conservative shift in their political views when they perceive that their majoritized group status is threatened (Craig & Richeson, 2014), and this perceived threat can influence worsening morbidity and mortality among White Americans (Siddiqi et al., 2019), but we do not have a comprehensive understanding of all of the components that precipitate this threat response (Efird et al., 2023a). Relatedly, we know that folk economic beliefs (e.g., whether one views the U.S. economy as a zero‐ or non‐zero‐sum system) can shape how White Americans respond to the potential “threat” of a majority‐minority population shift (Perkins et al., 2020), but it is unclear which underlying factors (other than folk economic beliefs) facilitate perceptions of threat for some Whites, but not for others.…”

“…Furthermore, we do not know exactly how this misperception of losing majoritized or dominant group status influences individual‐level mental and physical health for White Americans (Efird et al., 2023a). Developing more tools that quantify the components of whiteness would enable researchers to document the specific health effects of whiteness for White people.…”

The Death of Deliverism: Why Policy Alone Is Not Enough

“…One explanation for this is that white Americans, particularly white men, feel that their dominant social position is diminishing, and studies have shown that status threat is associated with greater white mortality. 23 The causes of rising unhappiness are complex, but they surely have roots in the failures of a neoliberal economic regime that has fostered insecurity, isolation, anxiety, and fearand was brought about by politicians in both political parties. Neoliberalism privatized risk, catalyzed alienation, and cultivated feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth for the 99 percent.…”