Studies indicate that African American men report more personal experiences with discrimination than do African American women. According to the subordinate male target hypothesis, this gender difference reflects an underlying reality in which African American men are the primary targets of anti-Black discrimination. From the perspective of intersectionality theory, African American women and men experience racial discrimination differently; and therefore greater reports of discrimination among African American men might be a result of measurement bias that favors the experiences of African American men vis-à-vis African American women. To assess these perspectives, the authors analyze data from the 1995 Detroit Area Study and the 2001–2003 National Survey of American Life. The authors use multiple-group confirmatory factor analytic models with latent means and categorical outcomes to observe the degree to which gender bias in measurement accounts for disparities in perceived discrimination among African American women and men. The results show that gender bias in the measures most often used to assess unfair treatment in social surveys is responsible for the gender gap in certain kinds of perceived discrimination among African Americans. Measures of everyday discrimination are mostly gender balanced, but measurement bias is responsible for a large portion of the gap in perceptions of major life discrimination and the entire gap when major life discrimination is attributed to race. The results highlight the importance of intersectionality theory for assessing discrimination, and the authors argue that revisions in the measurement of perceived discrimination are required to better reflect the experiences of African American women.
Abstract In this paper we draw from black and multiracial feminist theories to argue that interpersonal racial discrimination should be understood as a potentially gendered phenomenon. While there are some discriminatory practices that are directed at both black men and black women, some forms of racial discrimination affect men more than women, and some affect women more than men. Still other forms may be gender-specific. Our review of existing literature shows that most survey research has utilized measures and models of racial discrimination that fail to account for these gender differences. Drawing on the 2001–2003 National Survey of American Life (NSAL) we demonstrate the importance of gender for understanding and analysing interpersonal racial discrimination. We offer concrete ways for social researchers to centralize gender in their analyses. By doing so, we hope to advance the development of an intersectional approach to racial discrimination.
This study examined differences in major and everyday discrimination between African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non-Latino White older adults.Data are taken from the National Survey of American Life. Measures of major (e.g., unfairly fired and harassed by police) and everyday (e.g., treated with less courtesy, insulted, and followed in stores) discrimination were examined.Both African Americans and Black Caribbeans reported more major and everyday discrimination than non-Latino Whites. However, there were no significant differences between African Americans and Whites with regards to being fired, neighbors making life difficult and receiving poor service. There were no significant differences between African Americans and Black Caribbeans in major or everyday discrimination.The discussion notes the importance of examining racial as well as within group ethnic differences within the Black American population in the types of discrimination. It also notes the importance of examining indicators of both major and everyday discrimination.
Objectives: Sleep problems are associated with a host of psychiatric disorders and have been attributed to race disparities in health and wellness. Studies of sleep and mental health do not typically consider within-group differences among Blacks. Thus, our understanding of how the sleep–mental health relationship among Caribbean Blacks is limited. This study identified sleep profiles among Caribbean-born Blacks who reside in the United States.Design: Latent class analysis and data from the National Survey of American Life Re-interview study were used to identify and compare the associations between 'sleep quality classes,' sociodemographic factors, stress, and depression risk among Caribbean Blacks.Results: Two sleep quality classes were identified – 'good sleep quality' and 'poor sleep quality' – with each class demonstrating a complex pattern of sleep experiences, and illuminating the association between sleep and depression risk.Conclusions: Findings provide insight into the influence of sociodemographic factors and social stressors on the sleep experience of Caribbean Blacks and the importance of considering within-group differences to better understand risk and resilience among Caribbean Blacks living in the United States. Findings also highlight the importance of screening for sleep problems in an effort to reduce the burden of depression experienced by this population.
This insightful ethnographic study of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans provides important clarifications regarding the nature of racial orders in the United States and the Hispanic Caribbean. Wendy Roth investigates the logics that her respondents employ when seeking to racially identify/classify, resulting in two critical contributions to the sociology of race and ethnicity. First, she develops the concept of racial schemas—a more nuanced and contextualized way of understanding racial identity and classification. Second, she argues persuasively that Latinos constitute a racial group within the US racial order. Given these contributions, there is no doubt that her book will be useful in discussions regarding the “definitional components of race.” That is, findings presented in this book are in line with a series of recent studies that effectively shift focus away from a conception of race that is overly determined by “skin color” and toward a more nuanced consideration of the “racialized body” (to include notions of “bone structure” and “hair texture”), which leaves room for the incorporation of non-physical features in the process of constructing/assigning racial categories.
One of the longest standing debates in political sociology and political science concerns how people deploy identities and social cues to form political opinions. This debate turns on questions such as, is opinion formation essentially about social class, racial identification, or about other forms of identity or interest? Using original polling data from North Carolina, we model approval for President Trump in the run‐up to the 2018 midterm elections. Our findings show that support for Trump and the policies associated with his administration were highly connected to support for one policy that was particularly salient during that campaign—that is, the border wall. Among White respondents, support for the wall is strongly connected with perceptions of group threat; however, among Black respondents, group threat is unconnected with support for the wall and therefore for Trump and Trump‐related policies. Consistent with prior work on identity and political views, we theorize that cultural identification as a Trump supporter through one key issue serves as a learning mechanism through which voters develop support for other associated policies.
Despite the rapid growth of the Black Caribbean population in the United States, we know little about the presentation and prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among these groups. This study examines the demographic correlates and the effect of racial discrimination on OCD symptoms among a nationally-representative sample of Black Caribbean and African American adults (n = 5191). Drawing on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form (CIDI-SF) for OCD, we examine two types of obsessions (harm and contamination) and four types of compulsions (repeating, washing, ordering, and counting). There we no significant differences between Black Caribbeans and African Americans in obsessions and compulsions. Analysis among Black Caribbeans found that compared with Jamaican and Trinidadian Americans, Haitian American individuals reported the fewest number of obsessions and compulsions. We show that Black Caribbean Americans with lower income, lower self-rated physical and mental health, and more experiences with racial discrimination report higher levels of OCD. More specifically, racial discrimination was associated with contamination and harm obsessions, as well as washing and repeating compulsions. Our findings highlight the need to consider specific domains of OCD relative to Black Caribbeans, and the relationship between social and demographic variables on symptomology.
