Health Disparities due to Diminished Return among Black Americans: Public Policy Solutions

Assari, Shervin

doi:10.1111/sipr.12042

Cited by 319 publications

(791 citation statements)

References 172 publications

(219 reference statements)

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“…Notably, this work has suggested the use of interventions that involve parental transmission of positive racial socialization messages to youth and/or coping skills grounded in values and self-affirmations (Anderson, McKenny, Mitchell, Koku, & Stevenson, 2018;Hope, Hoggard, & Thomas, 2015). Religion and social support are also important factors to consider, as research suggests they provide greater health gains for Black people compared to their White counterparts (Assari, 2018).…”

Section: Addressing Racial/ethnic Discrimination and Disparitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co‐Occurring Youth Profiles of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Protective Factors: Associations with Health, Resilience, and Racial Disparities

Liu

Kia‐Keating

Nylund‐Gibson

et al. 2019

American J of Comm Psychol

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It is important to understand racial/ethnic differences in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), given their relationship to long‐term physical and mental health, and the public health cost of the significant disparities that exist. Moreover, in order to inform interventions and promote resilience, it is critical to examine protective factors that mitigate the relationship between adversity and poor health. The current study utilized latent transition analyses (LTA) to examine co‐occurring profiles of ACEs and protective factors (from school, family, and community contexts) and links to health outcomes among 30,668 Black (10.4%), Latinx (12.3%), and White youth (77.3%) ages 12–17 (52.5% male) who participated in the 2011–12 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). Results suggested that greater adversity was associated with worse health, while more access to protective factors was associated with better health. White youth had consistently lower endorsement of ACEs, greater access to protective factors, and better health compared to their Black and Latinx counterparts. Efforts to improve child health and racial/ethnic disparities in research and practice must consider adversity, protective factors, and the systemic inequities faced by racial/ethnic minority youth in the United States.

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Section: Addressing Racial/ethnic Discrimination and Disparitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co‐Occurring Youth Profiles of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Protective Factors: Associations with Health, Resilience, and Racial Disparities

Liu

Kia‐Keating

Nylund‐Gibson

et al. 2019

American J of Comm Psychol

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“…Similarly, the underlying mechanisms for health disparities among Blacks are complex and at least some are due to low health gain from SES and some from risk associated with high SES [5]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does School Racial Composition Explain Why High Income Black Youth Perceive More Discrimination? A Gender Analysis

Assari

2018

Brain Sciences

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Recent research has documented poor mental health among high socioeconomic status (SES) Blacks, particularly African American males. The literature has also shown a positive link between SES and perceived discrimination, suggesting that perceived discrimination may explain why high SES Black males report poor mental health. To better understand the role of contextual factors in explaining this pattern, we aimed to test whether school racial composition explains why high income Black youth perceive more discrimination. We explored these associations by ethnicity and gender. Using data from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent supplement (NSAL-A), the current study included 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth, with a mean age of 15. Ethnicity, age, gender, income-to-needs ratio (SES), skin color, school racial composition, and perceived (daily) discrimination were measured. Using Stata 15.0 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA), we fitted seven structural equation models (SEMs) for data analysis in the pooled sample based on the intersection of ethnicity and gender. Considerable gender by ethnicity variations were found in the associations between SES, school racial composition, and perceived discrimination. For African American males but not African American females or Caribbean Black males or females, school racial composition fully mediated the effect of SES on perceived discrimination. The role of inter-racial contact as a mechanism for high discrimination and poor mental health of Black American adolescents may depend on their intersection of ethnicity and gender. School racial composition may be a mechanism for increased perceived discrimination among high SES African American males.

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“…These consistent patterns suggest that society treats marginalized groups differentially, and it is this differential treatment of marginalized groups that reduces their full participation in society. It is the social structure that does not allow minority groups to fully leverage their resources and gain the highest level of tangible outcomes from the same social resources [17,18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects of SES on morbidity, CMCs, and disability are also shown to vary between sub-populations [14,15]. According to the Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) [17,18], however, the health of members of marginalized groups [19] is not heavily influenced by SES indicators, particularly educational attainment. Most studies have compared African-American and White individuals, with less research having been conducted on differential health effects of educational attainment for other ethnicities [11,19,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational Attainment Better Reduces Disability for Non-Hispanic than Hispanic Americans

Assari

Bazargan

2019

EJIHPE

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Objectives: Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs) refers to the weaker protective health effects of socioeconomic status (SES) for minorities, particularly educational attainment for racial and ethnic minorities, compared to the general population. This pattern has been documented among African-Americans compared to Whites, however, we know very little about MDRs for educational attainment on disability among Hispanics compared to Non-Hispanic Whites. Aims: This cross-sectional study explored ethnic variation in the effects of educational attainment on severity of disability in the United States of America (USA). Materials and Methods: The 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was a national survey of the general population in the USA. The total sample was 1021 American adults that reported some disability. Of the 1021 participants, 855 identified as Non-Hispanic and 165 identified as Hispanic. The independent variable was educational attainment. The main outcome was severity of disability measured using self-reported data. Age, gender, and race were covariates. Ethnicity was the effect modifier. Results: Among individuals with a disability, higher levels of educational attainment were associated with fewer disabilities, independent of all confounders. When ethnicity and educational attainment were interacted on severity of disability, the results indicated a smaller protective effect for Hispanics than for Non-Hispanics with a disability. Ethnicity-stratified models showed an effect for Non-Hispanics but not for Hispanics. Conclusions: The protective effects of educational attainment against severity of disability are smaller for Hispanics than for Non-Hispanics. To prevent health disparities, there is a need to minimize MDRs of SES for ethnic minorities. To do so, there is a need for innovative economic, public, and social policies that are not limited to equalizing educational attainment but that also help minorities leverage their resources and gain tangible outcomes.

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Health Disparities due to Diminished Return among Black Americans: Public Policy Solutions

Cited by 319 publications

References 172 publications

Co‐Occurring Youth Profiles of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Protective Factors: Associations with Health, Resilience, and Racial Disparities

Co‐Occurring Youth Profiles of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Protective Factors: Associations with Health, Resilience, and Racial Disparities

Does School Racial Composition Explain Why High Income Black Youth Perceive More Discrimination? A Gender Analysis

Educational Attainment Better Reduces Disability for Non-Hispanic than Hispanic Americans

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