Umberson Debra, Olson Julie Skalamera, Crosnoe Robert, Liu Hui, Pudrovska Tetyana, Donnelly Rachel
Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712;
Department of Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jan 31;114(5):915-920. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1605599114. Epub 2017 Jan 23.
Long-standing racial differences in US life expectancy suggest that black Americans would be exposed to significantly more family member deaths than white Americans from childhood through adulthood, which, given the health risks posed by grief and bereavement, would add to the disadvantages that they face. We analyze nationally representative US data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (n = 7,617) and the Health and Retirement Study (n = 34,757) to estimate racial differences in exposure to the death of family members at different ages, beginning in childhood. Results indicate that blacks are significantly more likely than whites to have experienced the death of a mother, a father, and a sibling from childhood through midlife. From young adulthood through later life, blacks are also more likely than whites to have experienced the death of a child and of a spouse. These results reveal an underappreciated layer of racial inequality in the United States, one that could contribute to the intergenerational transmission of health disadvantage. By calling attention to this heightened vulnerability of black Americans, our findings underscore the need to address the potential impact of more frequent and earlier exposure to family member deaths in the process of cumulative disadvantage.
美国预期寿命方面长期存在的种族差异表明，从童年到成年，非裔美国人比白人美国人更容易经历更多家庭成员的死亡，鉴于悲伤和丧亲之痛带来的健康风险，这会加剧他们所面临的不利处境。我们分析了来自美国全国青少年纵向研究（n = 7617）和健康与退休研究（n = 34757）的具有全国代表性的数据，以估计从童年开始在不同年龄段接触家庭成员死亡情况的种族差异。结果表明，从童年到中年，黑人比白人更有可能经历母亲、父亲和兄弟姐妹的死亡。从青年期到老年期，黑人比白人也更有可能经历孩子和配偶的死亡。这些结果揭示了美国种族不平等中一个未得到充分认识的层面，这一层面可能导致健康劣势的代际传递。通过提请人们注意非裔美国人这种更高的脆弱性，我们的研究结果强调了在累积劣势过程中应对更频繁、更早接触家庭成员死亡的潜在影响的必要性。
