Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Psychological Distress: An Examination of Differential Vulnerability

Ulbrich, Patricia M.; Warheit, George J.; Zimmerman, Rick S.

doi:10.2307/2136918

Cited by 243 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Viewing the stress paradigm through a life course lens suggests two key reasons to suspect that the effects of marital transitions on health and well-being may vary by age. First, exposure to multiple stressors increases vulnerability to additional stressful life events or chronic strains (Ulbrich, Warheit and Zimmerman 1989). Because many older adults experience a pile-up of stressors associated with the death of significant others and declines in economic well-being (Mirowsky and Ross 1992;Ensel et al 1996), the negative effects of marital dissolution on self-assessed health should be greater for older compared to younger individuals.…”

Section: The Life Course Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Marital Status, Marital Transitions, and Health: A Gendered Life Course Perspective

Williams¹,

2004

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We work from a life course perspective to assess the impact of marital status and marital transitions on subsequent changes in the self-assessed physical health of men and women. Our results suggest three central conclusions regarding the association of marital status and marital transitions with self-assessed health. First, marital status differences in health appear to reflect the strains of marital dissolution more than they reflect any benefits of marriage. Second, the strains of marital dissolution undermine the self-assessed health of men but not women. Finally, life course stage is as important as gender in moderating the effects of marital status and marital transitions on health.Married individuals are, on average, healthier than their unmarried counterparts, and men appear to receive more benefits from marriage than women (Hemstrom 1996;Lillard and Waite 1995;Rogers 1995). Recent research, however, raises serious questions about this general conclusion. An alternative explanation is that marital status differences in health result from the substantial but transient strains of marital dissolution. Despite much speculation about the processes responsible for marital status differences in health, most attempts to answer this question have been constrained by the use of cross-sectional data. We employ nationally representative longitudinal data to examine the impact of transitions into and out of marriage on the self-assessed health status of men and women. Further, we consider whether the effects of marital transitions on men's and women's physical health endure or attenuate with time.We also integrate a life course perspective with research and theory on marriage and health to investigate whether the benefits of being married or the strains of marital dissolution differentially affect the health of young, mid-life, and older men and women. The life course perspective suggests that the timing of role transitions and statuses influences their effects on well-being (Elder 1985; see George 1993). Applying a life course framework to research

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Section: The Life Course Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Marital Status, Marital Transitions, and Health: A Gendered Life Course Perspective

Williams¹,

2004

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“…Psychological vulnerability: Psychological characteristics such as depression, cynical hostility, control, anxiety, insecurity are more prevalent in the disadvantaged social classes; and have been proposed as possible explanations for the social gradient (Adler, Boyce, Chesney, Cohen, Folkman, Kahn & Syme, 1994;Bosma, Gallo & Mathews, 2003; . Van de Mheen & Mackenbach, 1999;Kaplan, 1995;Kessler, 1982;Marmot & Wilkinson, 2001;Ulbrich, Warheit & Zimmerman, 1989). Differential exposure to stressful life events may explain some of this association, but differential psychosocial vulnerability as an explanation has also been put forward (McLeod & Kessler, 1990;Pearlin & Schooler, 1978).…”

Section: Socialization: Key Areas For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of socialization in explaining social inequalities in health

Singh‐Manoux

Marmot

2005

Social Science & Medicine

168

124

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This paper argues that social selection, materialist/structural, and cultural/behavioural explanations for social inequalities in health are related to each other through the mechanism of socialization; seen here as a process through which societies shape patterns of behaviour and being that then affect health. Socialization involves the inter and intra-generational transfer of attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Parallels between socialization theory and Bourdieu's concept of habitus are also drawn, and the implications for social epidemiology discussed. Four key areas that would benefit from research within the socialization framework are identified: health behaviours, psychological vulnerability, social skills and future time perspective. Abstract word count: 98Main text word count: 2000

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“…NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript Zimmerman, 1989). Disparities between the occupational mobility and work experience of women and ethnic minorities relative to White men are often cited (Barclay, Fields, & Halpert, 1981;Bowman, 1991;Brown & Ford, 1977;Fernandez, 1981;Ford, 1982Ford, , 1983aFord, , 1983bMoch, 1980;Norman, 1981;Vecchio, 1980;Wallace, 1980).…”

Section: Nih-pa Author Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The need for an examination of the relative importance of psychosocial factors in employment is of increasing significance. This is particularly true as more is understood about the negative effects of job problems-stress or worker productivity, efficiency, and absenteeism as well as the costs in related physical and psychological disabilities (Kessler, 1979;Kessler & Cleary, 1980;Kessler & Neighbors, 1986;Mays, 1995;Thoits, 1983;Ulbrich et al, 1989).In the present study we examined the relationships of sociodemographics and perceived race-based discrimination variables to employment status and job problems-stress within a national probability sample of Black women. Analyses were conducted to explore the contribution of social psychological components of perceived race-based discrimination independently and in combination with sociodemographic characteristics to the variation in employment status and presence of job problems.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Perceived race-based discrimination, employment status, and job stress in a national sample of Black women: Implications for health outcomes.

Mays¹,

Coleman²,

Jackson³

1996

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

104

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Previous research has not systematically examined the relationship of perceived race-based discriminations to labor force participation or job related stresses-problems experienced by Black women. The present study investigated the relative contributions of perceived race-based discriminations and sociodemographic characteristics to employment status and job stress in a national probability sample (the National Survey of Black Americans; J. S. Jackson, 1991) of Black women in the United States. Logit and polychotomous logistic regression analyses revealed that Black women's current employment status was best explained by sociodemographic measures. In contrast, the combination of perceived discrimination and sociodemographics differentially affects patterns of employment status and perceived job stress in the work environment of Black women. Implications of these findings for the health of African American women are discussed.As greater numbers of women maintain steady employment and move into nontraditional occupations, more attention is being paid to social and psychological effects resulting from their participation in the labor force. The impact of work on marriage, family, mental health status, life satisfaction, and, in particular, job-related stress has been an important area of study (Crohan, Antonnucci, Adelmann, & Coleman, 1989). Historically, Black 1 women have constituted a proportionally large share of the labor force (Evans & Herr, 1991;Malveaux & Wallace, 1987). Much of the research on working Black women, however, has concerned itself with objective labor market indices (e.g., rates of participation, occupation, and salary equity). Little research has examined the psychosocial aspects of perceptions of gender and race discrimination in the labor market experiences of Black women, particularly as they affect entry into the labor force, participation rates (employment status), and job stress in the work environment as a function of perceptions of racial-ethnic discrimination.Studies examining work and the quality of life consistently document the negative impact of work-related discrimination on women and ethnic group members (Ulbrich, Warheit, & Copyright 1996 by the Educational Publishing Foundation Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Vickie M. Mays, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, California 90095-1563. Electronic mail may be sent via Internet to mays@psych.sscnet.ucla.edu. 1 The terms African American and Black are used interchangeably throughout this article to refer to Americans who share a common ancestral descent from people historically indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. NIH Public AccessAuthor Manuscript J Occup Health Psychol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2013 June 13.Published in final edited form as:J Occup Health Psychol. 1996 July ; 1(3): 319-329. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript Zimmerman, 1989). Disparities between the occupational ...

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Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Psychological Distress: An Examination of Differential Vulnerability

Cited by 243 publications

References 28 publications

Marital Status, Marital Transitions, and Health: A Gendered Life Course Perspective

Marital Status, Marital Transitions, and Health: A Gendered Life Course Perspective

Role of socialization in explaining social inequalities in health

Perceived race-based discrimination, employment status, and job stress in a national sample of Black women: Implications for health outcomes.

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