scholarly journals White (but Not Black) Americans Continue to See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game; White Conservatives (but Not Moderates or Liberals) See Themselves as Losing

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raea Rasmussen ◽  
David Levari ◽  
Muna Akhtar ◽  
Chelsea Crittle ◽  
Megan Gately ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Future Research ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Perceptions Of Racism ◽  
Zero Sum ◽  
Over Time

Norton and Sommers (2011) assessed Black and White Americans’ perceptions of anti-Black and anti-White bias across the previous six decades—from the 1950s to the 2000s. They presented two key findings: White (but not Black) respondents perceived decreases in anti-Black bias to be associated with increases in anti-White bias, signaling the perception that racism is a zero-sum game; White respondents rated anti-White bias as more pronounced than anti-Black bias in the 2000s, signaling the perception that they were losing the zero-sum game. We collected new data to examine whether the key findings would be evident nearly a decade later, and whether political ideology would moderate perceptions. Liberal, moderate, and conservative White (but not Black) Americans alike believed that racism is a zero-sum game. Liberal White Americans saw racism as a zero-sum game they were winning by a lot, moderate White Americans saw it as a game they were winning by only a little, and conservative White Americans saw it as a game they were losing. This work has clear implications for public policy and behavioral science, and lays the groundwork for future research that examines to what extent racial differences in perceptions of racism by political ideology are changing over time.

Ignorance of History and Perceptions of Racism: Another Look at the Marley Hypothesis

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 977-985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason E. Strickhouser ◽  
Ethan Zell ◽  
Kara E. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Additional Research ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Regional Context ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Perceptions Of Racism

Why do White Americans perceive less racism than Black Americans? Two provocative studies on the Marley hypothesis suggest that White Americans are more ignorant of historical instances of racism than Black Americans and that ignorance of history mediates racial differences in perceptions of racism. We conducted two replications of the Marley hypothesis in a different institutional and regional context than prior studies. In contrast with prior findings, the difference between White and Black Americans knowledge of historical racism was not significant in either of our replications and was dramatically smaller than that obtained in prior studies. Thus, the present research failed to replicate the mediation effect found in prior studies. We discuss potential explanations for these discrepant findings (e.g., differences in institution and region) and call for additional research examining whether the Marley hypothesis is moderated by cultural contexts.

Disparities in Health Between Black and White Americans: Current Knowledge and Directions for Future Research

2018 ◽  
pp. 456-478
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Fuller-Rowell ◽  
David S. Curtis ◽  
Adrienne M. Duke
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Conceptual frameworks for racial/ethnic health disparities are abundant, but many have received insufficient empirical attention. As a result, there are substantial gaps in scientific knowledge and a range of untested hypotheses. Particularly lacking is specificity in behavioral and biological mechanisms for such disparities and their underlying social determinants. Alongside lack of political will and public investment, insufficient clarity in mechanisms has stymied efforts to address racial health disparities. Capitalizing on emergent findings from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study and other longitudinal studies of aging, this chapter evaluates research on health disparities between black and white US adults. Attention is given to candidate behavioral and biological mechanisms as precursors to group differences in morbidity and mortality and to environmental and sociocultural factors that may underlie these mechanisms. Future research topics are discussed, emphasizing those that offer promise with respect to illuminating practical solutions to racial/ethnic health disparities.

Do Racial Differences in Coping Resources Explain the Black–White Paradox in Mental Health? A Test of Multiple Mechanisms

2021 ◽  
pp. 002214652110410
Author(s):  
Patricia Louie ◽  
Laura Upenieks ◽  
Christy L. Erving ◽  
Courtney S. Thomas Tobin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Coping Resources ◽  
Religious Attendance ◽  
Health Study ◽  
White Americans

A central paradox in the mental health literature is the tendency for black Americans to report similar or better mental health than white Americans despite experiencing greater stress exposure. However, black Americans’ higher levels of certain coping resources may explain this finding. Using data from the Nashville Stress and Health Study (n = 1,186), we examine whether black Americans have higher levels of self-esteem, social support, religious attendance, and divine control than white Americans and whether these resources, in turn, explain the black–white paradox in mental health. In adjusted models, the black–white paradox holds for depressive symptoms and any DSM-IV disorder. Findings indicate that black Americans have higher levels of self-esteem, family social support, and religiosity than white Americans. Causal mediation techniques reveal that self-esteem has the largest effect in explaining black–white differences in depressive symptoms, whereas divine control has the largest effect in explaining differences in disorder.

scholarly journals Informal and Formal Social Integration Shape Eating and Drinking of Older Black and White Americans

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1145-1155
Author(s):  
Katrina Hauschildt ◽  
Sarah A. Burgard
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Dietary Behaviors ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Objective Health ◽  
Important Health

Objective: Health behaviors are seen as one possible pathway linking race to health outcomes. Social integration has also been consistently linked to important health outcomes but has not been examined as a mechanism accounting for racial differences in health behaviors among older U.S. adults. Method: We use data from the American’s Changing Lives (ACL) Study to explore racial differences in measures of social integration and whether they help account for racial differences in several dietary behaviors and alcohol use. Results: We find differences by race and social integration measures in dietary behaviors and alcohol use. Net of socioeconomic status, health status, and reported discrimination, variation in social integration helps to account for racial differences in some health behaviors. Discussion: Our results highlight the nuanced role of social integration in understanding group differences in health behaviors. Interventions should consider such complexities when including aspects of social integration in their design.

scholarly journals Christian America in Black and White: Racial Identity, Religious-National Group Boundaries, and Explanations for Racial Inequality

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel L Perry ◽  
Andrew L Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Racial Inequality ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Group Boundaries ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Group Identities

Abstract Recent research suggests that, for white Americans, conflating national and religious group identities is strongly associated with racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, prompting some to argue that claims about Christianity being central to American identity are essentially about reinforcing white supremacy. Prior work has not considered, however, whether such beliefs may influence the racial views of nonwhite Americans differently from white Americans. Drawing on a representative sample of black and white Americans from the 2014 General Social Survey, and focusing on explanations for racial inequality as the outcome, we show that, contrary to white Americans, black Americans who view being a Christian as essential to being an American are actually more likely to attribute black–white inequality to structural issues and less to blacks’ individual shortcomings. Our findings suggest that, for black Americans, connecting being American to being Christian does not necessarily bolster white supremacy, but may instead evoke and sustain ideals of racial justice.

Marital Well-Being Over Time Among Black and White Americans: The First Seven Years

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edna Brown ◽  
Terri L. Orbuch ◽  
José A. Bauermeister ◽  
Brandyn-Dior McKinley
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Over Time

TRENDS: Racial Resentment and Public Opinion across the Racial Divide

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy D. Kam ◽  
Camille D. Burge
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Racial Resentment ◽  
Quantitative Examination ◽  
Racial Divide ◽  
Black Public Opinion

Research on racial resentment has been meticulously developed, tested, and analyzed with white Americans in mind—yet black Americans have also responded to this battery for the past three decades. To date, little to nothing is known about the implications of responses to the racial resentment battery among black Americans. A burgeoning literature on blacks’ intragroup attitudes suggests that over time, black Americans have increasingly attributed racial inequality to individual failings as opposed to structural forces. As such, unpacking blacks’ responses to the canonical racial resentment battery may provide further insight into the micro-foundations of black public opinion. Using survey data from 1986 to 2016, we engage in a systematic quantitative examination of the role of racial resentment in predicting black and white Americans’ opinions on racial policies, “race-coded” policies, and nonracialized policies. Along the way, we highlight the existence of wide heterogeneity among black respondents and call for further investigation that identifies similarities and differences in the foundations of white and black public opinion.

scholarly journals Differences in Left Atrial Size and Function and Supraventricular Ectopy Between Black and White Participants in the ARIC Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Wang ◽  
Faye L. Norby ◽  
Michael J. Zhang ◽  
Jorge L. Reyes ◽  
Amil M. Shah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Left Atrial ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Atrial Remodeling ◽  
Black And White ◽  
The Difference

Background Black Americans have more atrial fibrillation risk factors but lower atrial fibrillation risk than White Americans. Left atrial (LA) enlargement and/or dysfunction, frequent atrial tachycardia (AT), and premature atrial contractions (PAC) are associated with increased atrial fibrillation risk. Racial differences in these factors may exist that could explain the difference in atrial fibrillation risk. Methods and Results We included 2133 ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study participants (aged 74±4.5 years[mean±SD], 59% women, 27% Black participants) who had echocardiograms in 2011 to 2013 and wore the Zio XT Patch (a 2‐week continuous heart monitor) in 2016 to 2017. Linear regression was used to analyze (1) differences in AT/day or PAC/hour between Black and White participants, (2) differences in LA measures between Black and White participants, and (3) racial differences in the association of LA measures with AT or PAC frequency. Compared with White participants, Black participants had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and disease, lower AT frequency, greater LA size, and lower LA function. After multivariable adjustments, Black participants had 37% (95% CI, 24%–47%) fewer AT runs/day than White participants. No difference in PAC between races was noted. Greater LA size and reduced LA function are associated with more AT and PAC runs; however, no race interaction was present. Conclusions Differences in LA measures are unlikely to explain the difference in atrial fibrillation risk between Black and White individuals. Despite more cardiovascular risk factors and greater atrial remodeling, Black participants have lower AT frequency than White participants. Future research is needed to elucidate the protective mechanisms that confer resilience to atrial arrhythmias in Black individuals.

scholarly journals Christian America in Black and White: Racial Identity, Religious-National Group Boundaries, and Explanations for Racial Inequality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Perry ◽  
Andrew L Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Racial Inequality ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Group Boundaries ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Group Identities

Recent research suggests that, for white Americans, conflating national and religious group identities is strongly associated with racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, prompting some to argue that claims about Christianity being central to American identity are essentially about reinforcing white supremacy. Prior work has not considered, however, whether such beliefs may influence the racial views of nonwhite Americans differently from white Americans. Drawing on a representative sample of black and white Americans from the 2014 General Social Survey, and focusing on explanations for racial inequality as the outcome, we show that, contrary to white Americans, black Americans who view being a Christian as essential to being an American are actually more likely to attribute black–white inequality to structural issues and less to blacks’ individual shortcomings. Our findings suggest that, for black Americans, connecting being American to being Christian does not necessarily bolster white supremacy, but may instead evoke and sustain ideals of racial justice.

Racial Differences in Resolving Conflicts: A Comparison between Black and White Police Officers

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 516-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Y. Sun ◽  
Brian K. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Behavioral Differences ◽  
Predominantly Black ◽  
Black Neighborhoods ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Situational Characteristics ◽  
Black Officers

This study examined the behavioral differences between Black and White police officers in handling interpersonal conflicts. Observational and survey data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods and the 1990 census data were used. Actions taken by officers are examined along two behavioral dimensions: coercion and support. Findings show that Black officers are more coercive than their White counterparts in responding to conflicts. Black officers are also more likely than White officers to conduct supportive activities in predominantly Black neighborhoods, whereas they do not differ in initiating supportive actions in racially diverse communities. Situational characteristics play a strong role in determining police actions during conflict resolution. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

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