Robert Stephanie A, Ruel Erin
School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1350 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2006 Jul;61(4):S203-11. doi: 10.1093/geronb/61.4.s203.
In this study, we examined whether racial segregation is associated with poorer self-rated health among older adults, and whether racial segregation helps explain race disparities in self-rated health between Black and White older adults.
We used multilevel data at the individual, neighborhood (tract), and county levels, from two national surveys-the Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) survey and the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH). We used hierarchical linear models in order to regress self-rated health on county-, neighborhood-, and individual-level racial and socioeconomic variables.
In the NSFH, there was an association between county racial segregation and poorer self-rated health among White but not Black older adults (net of county percent Black and percent poverty). In the ACL, there was no statistically significant association between racial segregation and self-rated health. In the NSFH, there was some indication that Black older adults had better self-rated health when living in neighborhoods with a higher percentage of Black residents than the county percentage.
Although aggregate-level studies demonstrate associations between racial segregation and mortality rates, our multilevel analyses with two national data sets suggest only weak associations between racial segregation and self-rated health. However, socioeconomic status at multiple levels contributes to race disparities in health.
在本研究中，我们探讨了种族隔离是否与老年人较差的自评健康状况相关，以及种族隔离是否有助于解释黑人和白人老年人在自评健康方面的种族差异。
我们使用了来自两项全国性调查——《美国人生活变化》（ACL）调查和《全国家庭与住户调查》（NSFH）——的个体、邻里（普查区）和县层面的多层次数据。我们使用分层线性模型，以便将自评健康状况对县、邻里和个体层面的种族及社会经济变量进行回归分析。
在NSFH中，县种族隔离与白人老年人而非黑人老年人较差的自评健康状况之间存在关联（扣除县内黑人百分比和贫困百分比）。在ACL中，种族隔离与自评健康状况之间没有统计学上的显著关联。在NSFH中，有迹象表明，与所在县的黑人居民百分比相比，当黑人老年人居住在黑人居民百分比更高的邻里时，他们的自评健康状况更好。
尽管总体层面的研究表明种族隔离与死亡率之间存在关联，但我们对两个全国性数据集进行的多层次分析表明，种族隔离与自评健康状况之间只有微弱的关联。然而，多个层面的社会经济地位导致了健康方面的种族差异。
