Whites but Not Blacks Gain Life Expectancy from Social Contacts

Assari, Shervin

doi:10.3390/bs7040068

Cited by 44 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…However, studies from the United States reveal that although supportive environments could result in addressing social determinants of health (e.g. education) and lead to better health, these effects are more likely for Caucasians than for African/black populations [ 36 – 38 ]. Therefore, Assari [ 39 ] recommends developing policies that promote income distribution, eliminate discrimination, and barriers to resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Above chaos, quest, and restitution: narrative experiences of African immigrant youth’s settlement in Canada

Woodgate

Busolo

2018

BMC Public Health

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BackgroundAfrican Immigrant and refugee youth represent an increasing group of newcomers in Canada. Upon their immigration, youth experience challenges that have the potential to lead to poor health, yet little is known about their settlement journey. Accordingly, this qualitative study examines the settlement journey of African immigrant and refugee youth with a focus on how their experiences were shaped by the social determinants of health.MethodsWe conducted a total of 70 interviews with 52 immigrant and refugee youth (ages 13–29 years) who had arrived in Canada in the preceding six years. Qualitative data was analyzed using Frank’s dialogical narrative analysis approach (Frank AW, Practicing Dialogical Narrative Analysis. In: Varieties of Narrative Analysis, 2016).ResultsYouth experienced different settlement journeys that are described in the three narrative typologies of chaos, quest, and restitution. The chaos narrative of a long road ahead revealed the themes of ‘facing challenges’ and ‘still the outsider.’ The quest narrative of not there yet was represented by the themes of ‘stepping out of your comfort zone’ and ‘being relentless.’ The theme of ‘supportive environments’ depicted the restitution narrative of dreams become a reality. Youth highlighted the impact of social determinants of health in their settlement.ConclusionYouth experienced different settlement journeys that were mired in chaos and challenges. However, youth were more likely to experience restitution when they received social support and found a sense of belonging. In future, policies and programs that seek to improve immigrant and refugee youth’s settlement experiences need to be multifaceted, offer more support and promote a sense of belonging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Above chaos, quest, and restitution: narrative experiences of African immigrant youth’s settlement in Canada

Woodgate

Busolo

2018

BMC Public Health

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“…These findings may explain the positive association between SES and psychological distress in Black men [ 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 ]. These findings may collectively why SES generates less health for Blacks, compared to Whites, a phenomenon also called as Blacks’ diminished return [ 95 , 96 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Darker Skin Tone Increases Perceived Discrimination among Male but Not Female Caribbean Black Youth

Assari

Caldwell

2017

Children

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Background: Among most minority groups, males seem to report higher levels of exposure and vulnerability to racial discrimination. Although darker skin tone may increase exposure to racial discrimination, it is yet unknown whether skin tone similarly influences perceived discrimination among male and female Caribbean Black youth. Objective: The current cross-sectional study tests the role of gender on the effects of skin tone on perceived discrimination among Caribbean Black youth. Methods: Data came from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), 2003–2004, which included 360 Caribbean Black youth (ages 13 to 17). Demographic factors (age and gender), socioeconomic status (SES; family income, income to needs ratio, and subjective SES), skin tone, and perceived everyday discrimination were measured. Linear regressions were used for data analysis. Results: In the pooled sample, darker skin tone was associated with higher levels of perceived discrimination among Caribbean Black youth (b = 0.48; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.07–0.89). A significant interaction was found between gender and skin tone (b = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.49–1.86), suggesting a larger effect of skin tone on perceived discrimination for males than females. In stratified models, darker skin tone was associated with more perceived discrimination for males (b = 1.20; 95% CI = 0.69–0.72) but not females (b = 0.06; 95% CI = −0.42–0.55). Conclusion: Similar to the literature documenting male gender as a vulnerability factor to the effects of racial discrimination, we found that male but not female Caribbean Black youth with darker skin tones perceive more discrimination.

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“…In a study among older adults, high education had a smaller effect on changing drinking patterns for Black than Whites (Hummer and Lariscy 2011). In other studies, employment (Assari 2017a), neighborhood quality (Assari and Caldwell 2017), social contacts (Assari 2017b), income (Assari 2018c), self-efficacy (Assari 2017c, 2017d; Assari and Lankarani 2017), affect ; Assari and Burgard 2015; Assari 2017e), and sleep all had larger health effects for Whites than Blacks. Assari et al (2018) used 15 years of follow-up data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS)] and compared Black and White families for the protective effects of maternal education and family structure at birth on subsequent body mass index (BMI) of youth at age 15.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Parental Education Better Helps White than Black Families Escape Poverty: National Survey of Children’s Health

Assari

2018

Economies

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According to the Blacks' Diminished Return theory, the health effects of high socioeconomic status (SES) are systemically smaller for Black compared to White families. One hypothesis is that due to the existing structural racism that encompasses residential segregation, low quality of education, low paying jobs, discrimination in the labor market, and extra costs of upward social mobility for minorities, Black families face more challenges for leveraging their education to escape poverty. Aims: Using a nationally representative sample of American families with children, this study investigated racial variation in the effects of highest education of parents on family's ability to scale poverty, defined as the household's income-to-needs ratio. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) 2003-2004-a nationally representative telephone survey that included 86,537 parents of children 0-17 years old. The sample was composed of White (n = 76,403, 88.29%) and Black (n = 10,134, 11.71%) families. The independent variable was highest education of the parents. The dependent variable was household poverty status (income-to-needs ratio). Race was the focal moderator. Linear regression was used in the pooled sample, as well as by race. Results: In the pooled sample, higher education of parents in the household was associated with lower risk of poverty. Race, however, interacted with parental education attainment on household-income-to-needs ratio, indicating smaller effects for Black compared to White families. Lower number of parents and higher number of children in Black families did not explain such racial disparities. Conclusions: The economic gain of parental education on helping family escape poverty is smaller for Black than White families, and this is not as a result of a lower parent-to-child ratio in Black households. Policies should specifically address structural barriers in the lives of all minorities to minimize the diminished return of SES resources across racial minority groups. Policies should also enhance quality of education and reduce the extra cost of upward social mobility for racial minorities. As the likely causes are multilevel, the solutions should also be multilevel. Without such interventions, it may be very difficult if not impossible to eliminate the existing economic and health gap between racial groups.

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Whites but Not Blacks Gain Life Expectancy from Social Contacts

Cited by 44 publications

References 104 publications

Above chaos, quest, and restitution: narrative experiences of African immigrant youth’s settlement in Canada

Above chaos, quest, and restitution: narrative experiences of African immigrant youth’s settlement in Canada

Darker Skin Tone Increases Perceived Discrimination among Male but Not Female Caribbean Black Youth

Parental Education Better Helps White than Black Families Escape Poverty: National Survey of Children’s Health

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