Emory University, Room 225 Tarbutton Hall, 1555 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
J Pers. 2009 Dec;77(6):1677-706. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00597.x. Epub 2009 Sep 30.
This paper reviews published research and presents new analyses from the 1995 nationally representative sample from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study to investigate whether there is support for the paradox of race and health in the United States. Findings reveal that Blacks have lower rates of several common mental disorders, but Blacks also have higher rates of flourishing than Whites. Blacks are mentally resilient in the face of greater social inequality and exposure to discrimination as well as high rates of physical morbidity--all of which are distinctive risk factors for mental distress and mental illness in the general population. Findings also show that controlling for perceived discrimination increases the Black advantage in 12 of the 13 signs of flourishing, suggesting that Blacks would have even better mental health were it not for discrimination. This paper concludes by considering what mechanisms--both adaptive and maladaptive--might explain this particular example of resilience in the Black population.
本文回顾了已发表的研究,并对来自 1995 年美国中年生活(MIDUS)全国代表性样本的新分析进行了研究,以探讨美国的种族与健康悖论是否有其依据。研究结果表明,黑人的几种常见精神障碍发病率较低,但幸福感的比例却高于白人。在面对更大的社会不平等、更多的歧视以及更高的身体发病率时,黑人具有更强的心理适应能力——所有这些都是一般人群中精神痛苦和精神疾病的独特危险因素。研究结果还表明,控制感知歧视可以增加黑人在 13 种幸福感迹象中的 12 种优势,这表明如果没有歧视,黑人的心理健康状况会更好。本文最后考虑了哪些机制(适应性和不适应性)可以解释黑人群体中这种特殊的适应能力。