Racial differences in illness behavior.

Using data on 359 white and 126 black respondents who were interviewed in their home as part of an omnibus health care study in a rural southern county during 1978, the illness behavior (i.e., dentist, physician, and hospital utilization measures) of blacks and whites are compared and contrasted. Zero-order racial differences in illness behavior disappeared after controlling for the predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics identified in Andersen's generic access model. Further multivariate analysis, however indicates that while there are no racial differences in illness behavior after the predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics of the individual are taken into consideration, there are significant differences between blacks and whites in the effects of these characteristics, at least in terms of discretionary health services utilization. This provides some support for recent speculation that blacks might respond differently than whites regarding the use of and access to health services because of separate cultural traditions.