Death of family members as an overlooked source of racial disadvantage in the United States
Death of family members as an overlooked source of racial disadvantage in the United States
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1605599114
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发表时间：
2017-01-31
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Donnelly, Rachel
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Umberson, Debra;Olson, Julie Skalamera;Donnelly, Rachel
美国预期寿命的长期种族差异表明，从童年到成年，美国黑人将比白色美国人面临更多的家庭成员死亡，考虑到悲伤和丧亲带来的健康风险，这将增加他们面临的不利因素。我们分析了来自全国青年纵向研究（n = 7，617）和健康与退休研究（n = 34，757）的全国代表性美国数据，以估计不同年龄家庭成员死亡的种族差异，从童年开始。结果表明，黑人从童年到中年经历母亲、父亲和兄弟姐妹死亡的可能性明显高于白人。从青年到晚年，黑人也比白人更有可能经历子女和配偶的死亡。这些结果揭示了美国种族不平等的一个被低估的层面，这可能有助于健康劣势的代际传递。通过呼吁人们关注美国黑人的这种高度脆弱性，我们的研究结果强调，需要解决在累积不利条件的过程中更频繁和更早地暴露于家庭成员死亡的潜在影响。
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.