9.1-
Ethnicity & Income
The School of Health Sciences, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore
Defining Race, Ethnicity & Minority Groups
Race refers to groups of people who have differences and similarities in biological traits deemed by society to be socially significant, meaning that people treat other people differently because of them. For instance, while differences and similarities in eye color have not been treated as socially significant, differences and similarities in skin color have. An example of a racial category is Asian (or Mongoloid), with its associated facial, hair color, and body type features. Using such physical differences as their criteria, scientists at one point identified as many as nine races: African, American Indian or Native American, Asian, Australian Aborigine, European (more commonly called “white”), Indian, Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian (Smedley, 1998).
Because of the problems in the meaning of race, many social scientists prefer the term ethnicity in speaking of people of color and others with distinctive cultural heritages. In this context, ethnicity refers to the shared social, cultural, and historical experiences, stemming from common national or regional backgrounds, that make subgroups of a population different from one another. For example, ethnic groups such as Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Hainanese and Cantonese might all be groups whose members are predominantly included in the racial category “Chinese.” Conversely, the ethnic group British includes citizens from a multiplicity of racial backgrounds: Black, White, Asian, and more, plus a variety of race combinations. These examples illustrate the complexity and overlap of these identifying terms.
Ethnicity, like race, continues to be an identification method that individuals and institutions use today—whether through the census, affirmative action initiatives, non-discrimination laws, or simply in personal day-to-day relations.
Sydney Brown from the Youtube Channel "Khan Academy President" is here to give us a short explanation of race and ethnicity are socially defined categories that have an impact on cultural and social interactions.
The original video lecture Sydney Brown from the Youtube Channel "Khan Academy President" is here to give us a short explanation of race and ethnicity are socially defined categories that have an impact on cultural and social interactions. Video can and be found in this link: https://youtu.be/Yb1_4FPtzrI
Ethnicity & Socioeconomic Status
Socioeconomic status (SES) encompasses not just income but also educational attainment, financial security, and subjective perceptions of social status and social class. Socioeconomic status can encompass quality of life attributes as well as the opportunities and privileges afforded to people within society. Poverty, specifically, is not a single factor but rather is characterized by multiple physical and psychosocial stressors. Further, SES is a consistent and reliable predictor of a vast array of outcomes across the life span, including physical and psychological health. Thus, SES is relevant to all realms of behavioral and social science, including research, practice, education and advocacy.
SES affects overall human functioning, including our physical and mental health. Low SES and its correlates, such as lower educational achievement, poverty and poor health, ultimately affect our society. Inequities in health distribution, resource distribution, and quality of life are increasing in the United States and globally. Society benefits from an increased focus on the foundations of socioeconomic inequities and efforts to reduce the deep gaps in socioeconomic status in the United States and abroad.
The relationship between SES, race and ethnicity is intimately intertwined. Research has shown that race and ethnicity in terms of stratification often determine a person’s socioeconomic status (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). Furthermore, communities are often segregated by SES, race, and ethnicity. These communities commonly share characteristics: low economic development; poor health conditions; and low levels of educational attainment; Low SES has consistently been implicated as a risk factor for many of these problems that plague communities. Research indicates that there are large health disparities based on social status that are pervasive and persistent. These health disparities reflect the inequalities that exist in our society. It is important to understand how various social statuses intersect, because race and socioeconomic status affect health exclusively as well as mutually (Williams & Mohammed, 2013).
SES & Ethnic Minorities
Discrimination and marginalization can serve as a hindrance to upward mobility for ethnic and racial minorities seeking to escape poverty.
In the United States, 39 percent of African-American children and adolescents and 33 percent of Latino children and adolescents are living in poverty, which is more than double the 14 percent poverty rate for non-Latino, White, and Asian children and adolescents (Kids Count Data Center, Children in Poverty 2014).
SES & Education
Large gaps remain when minority education attainment and outcomes are compared to the majority in society.
From 2000 to 2013 the dropout rate between racial groups narrowed significantly. However, high school dropout rates among Latinos remain the highest, followed by African-Americans and then Whites (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015).
SES & Physical Health
Institutional discrimination creates barriers to health care access. Even when stigmatized groups can access care, cultural racism reduces the quality of care they receive (Williams & Mohammed, 2013).
Racial and ethnic minorities have worse overall health than that of White Americans. Health disparities may stem from economic determinants, education, geography and neighborhood, environment, lower quality care, inadequate access to care, inability to navigate the system, provider ignorance or bias, and stress (Bahls, 2011).
Socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity have been associated with avoidable procedures, avoidable hospitalizations, and untreated disease (Fiscella, Franks, Gold, & Clancy, 2008).
SES & Psychological Health
Socioeconomic deprivation and racial discrimination have been implicated in higher psychological distress.
Wealth partially explains racial and ethnic differences in depression. Negative net worth, zero net worth and not owning a home in young adulthood are significantly associated with depressive symptoms, independent of the other socioeconomic indicators (Mossakowski, 2008).
Hispanics and African-Americans report a lower risk of having a psychiatric disorder compared with their white counterparts, but those who become ill tend to have more persistent disorders (McGuire & Miranda, 2008).
Further Optional Readings
If you wish to push yourself further and embark on more learning journey, you can download and read the full texts of the studies cited above via the following Links:
