Griffith Derek M, Neighbors Harold W, Johnson Jonetta
Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA.
Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2009 Jan;15(1):86-95. doi: 10.1037/a0013594.
National datasets provide a unique opportunity to examine racial and ethnic disparities in health and mental health. In this article, the authors discuss some of the ways in which national datasets can facilitate our understanding of key pathways and mechanisms that explain racial and ethnic disparities and some of the conceptual and measurement issues that continue to hinder disparities research. Utilizing infant mortality and major depression as examples, the authors illustrate the complexity of studying racial and ethnic health and mental health disparities and argue that more thought and precision be utilized to study and explain these differences. Specifically, the authors argue that it is critical to disentangle population-level factors and individual-level characteristics to advance our understanding of disparities. The authors also contend that it is important for researchers to recognize the reciprocal relationship between the theoretical foundations and methodological innovations that must be integrated to effectively examine disparities. The authors conclude by discussing some of the benefits of researchers utilizing national databases that hold particular promise for addressing racial and ethnic disparities.
国家数据集为研究健康和心理健康方面的种族和族裔差异提供了独特的机会。在本文中，作者讨论了国家数据集能够促进我们理解解释种族和族裔差异的关键途径和机制的一些方式，以及一些继续阻碍差异研究的概念和测量问题。作者以婴儿死亡率和重度抑郁症为例，说明了研究种族和族裔健康及心理健康差异的复杂性，并认为需要运用更多的思考和精准性来研究和解释这些差异。具体而言，作者认为区分人口层面因素和个体层面特征对于深化我们对差异的理解至关重要。作者还主张，研究人员认识到理论基础与方法创新之间的相互关系很重要，而这两者必须结合起来才能有效地研究差异。作者最后讨论了研究人员利用国家数据库的一些好处，这些数据库在解决种族和族裔差异方面具有特别的前景。
