Race differences in the effects of multiple roles on health: longitudinal evidence from a national sample of older men.

This paper examines race differences in the effects of social roles on physical health. Using data from the older men cohort of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience, we examine the impact of employment, marriage, and being a supporter on health limitations and mortality. Employment has the most consistent health-protective effect, and the benefits of employment are more pronounced for Blacks than for Whites. Marriage affects health in conjunction with employment. These findings lend further support to the growing literature on the effects of roles on health. The results further illustrate the importance of ascribed statuses as structural determinants of the relationship between roles and health, highlighting the very real differences in the meanings and expectations of social roles for Blacks and Whites.