Schulz A, Williams D, Israel B, Becker A, Parker E, James S A, Jackson J
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
J Health Soc Behav. 2000 Sep;41(3):314-32.
Why do racial differences in many indicators of mental and emotional well-being show inconsistent patterns? We propose that mental and emotional well-being are influenced by aspects of the social context, including experiences of unfair treatment and the concentration of households with incomes below the poverty level, and that differential exposure to these factors influences racial differences in mental well-being. We analyze the reporting of psychological distress and life satisfaction in a multistage area probability sample of 1,139 African American and white residents of the Detroit metropolitan area aged 18 and older. Both psychological distress and life satisfaction are significantly associated with exposure to unfair treatment and with the proportion of households in the census block group that were below the poverty level. Racial differences in psychological distress and life satisfaction were eliminated or reversed once differentials in the percent of households living below the poverty line and exposure to unfair treatment were accounted for. These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence that "race" effects operate through multiple pathways that include race-based residential segregation and its attendant economic disinvestment at the community level, and interpersonal experiences of unfair treatment.
为何在许多心理和情绪健康指标上的种族差异呈现出不一致的模式？我们认为，心理和情绪健康受到社会环境因素的影响，包括不公平待遇的经历以及收入低于贫困线的家庭的集中程度，而且对这些因素的不同接触会影响心理健康方面的种族差异。我们在一个多阶段区域概率样本中分析了心理困扰和生活满意度的报告情况，该样本涵盖了底特律大都市区1139名年龄在18岁及以上的非裔美国人和白人居民。心理困扰和生活满意度都与遭受不公平待遇以及人口普查街区组中处于贫困线以下的家庭比例显著相关。一旦考虑到生活在贫困线以下的家庭百分比差异和遭受不公平待遇的情况，心理困扰和生活满意度方面的种族差异就会消除或逆转。这些发现为越来越多的证据提供了补充，即“种族”效应通过多种途径起作用，这些途径包括基于种族的居住隔离及其在社区层面伴随而来的经济撤资，以及不公平待遇的人际经历。
