Assari Shervin, Caldwell Cleopatra Howard
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA.
Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA.
Children (Basel). 2018 Feb 15;5(2):24. doi: 10.3390/children5020024.
Most of the existing sociological and epidemiological literature has focused on the protective effects of high socioeconomic status (SES) on population health through reducing exposure to risk factors and increasing human and material resources that can mitigate adversities. Recent studies, however, have documented poor mental health of high SES Blacks, particularly African American males and Caribbean Black females. The literature also shows a link between perceived discrimination and poor mental health. To better understand the extra costs of upward social mobility for minority populations, this study explored ethnic by gender variations in the associations between SES indicators and perceived discrimination in an ethnically diverse national sample of Black youth. This study included 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth who were sampled in the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent supplement (NSAL-A). Three SES indicators (financial hardship, family income, and income to needs ratio) were the independent variables. The dependent variable was perceived (daily) discrimination. Age was the covariate. Ethnicity and gender were the focal moderators. Linear regressions were used for data analysis in the pooled sample and also based on the intersection of ethnicity and gender. Considerable gender by ethnicity variations were found in the patterns of the associations between SES indicators and perceived discrimination. Financial hardship was a risk factor for perceived discrimination in African American males only. High family income and income to needs ratio were associated with high (but not low) perceived discrimination in African American males and Caribbean Black females. SES indicators were not associated with perceived discrimination for African American females or Caribbean Black males. When it comes to Black youth, high SES is not always protective. Whether SES reduces or increases perceived discrimination among Black youth depends on the intersection of ethnicity by gender. Additional research is needed to understand why and how high SES increases exposure and vulnerability to discrimination for some groups of Black youth.
现有的大多数社会学和流行病学文献都聚焦于高社会经济地位（SES）通过减少接触风险因素以及增加可减轻逆境的人力和物力资源，对人群健康产生的保护作用。然而，近期研究记录了高社会经济地位的黑人，尤其是非裔美国男性和加勒比黑人女性的心理健康状况不佳。文献还表明感知到的歧视与心理健康不佳之间存在联系。为了更好地理解少数族裔向上社会流动的额外代价，本研究在一个种族多样的全国黑人青年样本中，探讨了SES指标与感知到的歧视之间按种族和性别的关联差异。本研究纳入了810名非裔美国青年和360名加勒比黑人青年，他们是在美国生活青少年补充调查（NSAL - A）中被抽样的。三个SES指标（经济困难、家庭收入和收入需求比）为自变量。因变量是感知到的（日常）歧视。年龄为协变量。种族和性别是重点调节变量。线性回归用于汇总样本以及基于种族和性别的交叉情况进行数据分析。在SES指标与感知到的歧视之间的关联模式中，发现了显著的种族与性别差异。经济困难仅是非洲裔美国男性感知到歧视的一个风险因素。高家庭收入和收入需求比与非裔美国男性和加勒比黑人女性中高（而非低）感知到的歧视相关。SES指标与非裔美国女性或加勒比黑人男性感知到的歧视无关。对于黑人青年而言，高社会经济地位并不总是具有保护作用。SES是减少还是增加黑人青年中感知到的歧视，取决于种族与性别的交叉情况。需要进一步研究以了解为何以及高社会经济地位如何增加某些黑人青年群体遭受歧视的暴露程度和易感性。
