Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 2/2012

01-04-2012 | Original Paper

Self-Reported Discrimination and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Whites, Blacks, Mexicans and Central Americans

Authors: Angie Denisse Otiniano, Gilbert C. Gee

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 2/2012

Login to get access

Abstract

This study investigates whether self-reported racial discrimination is related to poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Analyses focused on Whites (n = 52,571), Blacks (n = 4,343), Mexicans (n = 12,336), Central Americans (n = 1,504), Multi-ethnic Latinos (n = 1,102), and Other Latinos (n = 1,828) who participated in the 2003 and 2005 California Health Interview survey. Logistic and negative binomial regression was used to examine the association between HRQoL (assessed with the CDC unhealthy days measures) and self-reported racial discrimination. Discrimination was reported by 10% of Whites, 57% of Blacks, and 24–31% of the Latino groups. These reports were associated with increased number of unhealthy days, disability days, and poor self-rated health, even after, controlling for education and other factors. This association did not consistently vary by race/ethnicity. Racial discrimination may be a risk factor for poor HRQoL among diverse groups. Future research should examine the factors that may reduce potential exposure to racial discrimination.
Literature
1.
Kessler RC, Mickelson KD, Williams DR. The prevalence distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States. J Health Soc Behav. 1999;40(3):208–30.PubMedCrossRef
2.
Pavalko EK, Mossakowski KN, Hamilton VJ. Does perceived discrimination affect health? Longitudinal relationships between work discrimination and women’s physical and emotional health. J Health Soc Behav. 2003;44(1):18–33.PubMedCrossRef
3.
Williams DR, et al. Racial differences in physical and mental health: socio-economic status, stress and discrimination. J Health Psychol. 1997;2(3):335–51.PubMedCrossRef
4.
Bhui K, et al. Racial/ethnic discrimination and common mental disorders among workers: findings from the EMPIRIC Study of ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom. Am J Public Health. 2005;95(3):496–501.PubMedCrossRef
5.
Caughy MOB, O’Campo PJ, Muntaner C. Experiences of racism among African American parents and the mental health of their preschool-aged children. Am J Public Health. 2004;94(12):2118–24.PubMedCrossRef
6.
Finch BK, et al. The role of discrimination and acculturative stress in the physical health of mexican-origin adults. Hisp J Behav Sci. 2001;23(4):399–429.CrossRef
7.
Finch BK, Kolody B, Vega WA. Perceived discrimination and depression among Mexican-origin adults in California. J Health Soc Behav. 2000;41(3):295–313.PubMedCrossRef
8.
Fischer AR, Shaw CM. African Americans’ mental health and perceptions of racist discrimination: the moderating effects of racial socialization experiences and self-esteem. J Counsel Psychol. 1999;46(3):395–407.CrossRef
9.
Gee GC. A multilevel analysis of the relationship between institutional and individual racial discrimination and health status. Am J Public Health. 2002;92(4):615–23.PubMedCrossRef
10.
Gee GC, et al. Disentangling the effects of racial and weight discrimination on body mass index and obesity among Asian Americans. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(3):493–500.PubMedCrossRef
11.
Gee GC, et al. Self-reported discrimination and mental health status among African descendants, Mexican Americans, and other Latinos in the New Hampshire REACH 2010 initiative: the added dimension of immigration. Am J Public Health. 2006;96(10):1821–8.PubMedCrossRef
12.
Hogue CJR, et al. Minority health in America: findings and policy implications from the Commonwealth Fund minority health survey, vol. xviii. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2000.
13.
Noh S, Kaspar V. Perceived discrimination and depression: moderating effects of coping, acculturation, and ethnic support. Am J Public Health. 2003;93(2):232–8.PubMedCrossRef
14.
Schulz A, et al. Unfair treatment, neighborhood effects, and mental health in the Detroit metropolitan area. J Health Soc Behav. 2000;41(3):314–32.PubMedCrossRef
15.
Stuber J, et al. The association between multiple domains of discrimination and self-assessed health: a multilevel analysis of Latinos and blacks in four low-income New York City neighborhoods. Health Serv Res. 2003;38(6 Pt 2):1735–59.PubMedCrossRef
16.
Whitbeck LB, et al. Perceived discrimination, traditional practices, and depressive symptoms among American Indians in the upper Midwest. J Health Soc Behav. 2002;43(4):400–18.PubMedCrossRef
17.
Williams DR, Williams-Morris R. Racism and mental health: the African American experience. Ethn Health. 2000;5(3–4):243–68.PubMedCrossRef
18.
Finch BK, Vega WA. Acculturation Stress, social support, and self-rated health among Latinos in California. J Immigr Health. 2003;5(3):109–17.PubMedCrossRef
19.
Flores E, et al. Perceived discrimination, perceived stress, and mental and physical health among Mexican-origin adults. Hisp J Behav Sci. 2008;30(4):401–24.CrossRef
20.
Gee G, Walsemann K. Does health predict the reporting of racial discrimination or do reports of discrimination predict health? Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth. Soc Sci Med. 2009;68(9):1676–84.PubMedCrossRef
21.
Schulz AJ, et al. Discrimination, symptoms of depression, and self-rated health among African American Women in Detroit: results from a longitudinal analysis. Am J Public Health. 2006;96(7):1265–70.PubMedCrossRef
22.
Pantzer K, et al. Health related quality of life in immigrants and native school aged adolescents in Spain. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2006;60(8):694–8.PubMedCrossRef
23.
Institute of Medicine. State of the USA health indicators. Letter report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2009.
24.
Gee GC, Ponce N. Associations between racial discrimination, limited English proficiency, and health-related quality of life among 6 Asian ethnic groups in California. Am J Public Health. 2010;100(5):888–95.PubMedCrossRef
25.
Fujishiro K. Is perceived racial privilege associated with health? Findings from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system. Soc Sci Med. 2009;68(5):840–4.PubMedCrossRef
26.
Finch BK, et al. Validity of self-rated health among Latino(a)s. Am J Epidemiol. 2002;155(8):755–9.PubMedCrossRef
27.
28.
Cervantes RC, de Snyder VNS, Padilla AM. Posttraumatic stress in immigrants from Central America and Mexico. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1989;40(6):615–9.PubMed
29.
Alegría M, et al. Understanding differences in past year psychiatric disorders for Latinos living in the US. Soc Sci Med. 2007;65(2):214–30.PubMedCrossRef
30.
Cook B, et al. Pathways and correlates connecting Latinos’ mental health with exposure to the United States. Am J Public Health. 2009;99(12):2247–54.PubMedCrossRef
31.
Brown ER, et al. Community-based participatory research in the California health interview survey. Prev Chronic Dis. 2005;2(4):A03.PubMed
32.
Ponce NA, et al. The California health interview survey 2001: translation of a major survey for California’s multiethnic population. Public Health Rep. 2004;119(4):388–95.PubMedCrossRef
33.
Hennessy CH, et al. Measuring health-related quality of life for public health surveillance. Public Health Rep. 1994;109(5):665–72.PubMed
34.
Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as Adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, June 19–22, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1948.
35.
Zahran HS, et al. Health-related quality of life surveillance–United States, 1993–2002. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2005;54(4):1–35.PubMed
36.
Manor O, Matthews S, Power C. Dichotomous or categorical response? Analysing self-rated health and lifetime social class. Int J Epidemiol. 2000;29(1):149–57.PubMedCrossRef
37.
Pérez DJ, Fortuna L, and Alegría M. Prevalence and correlates of everyday discrimination among US Latinos. J Community Psychol. 2008;421–433. doi:10.​1002/​jcop.​20221.
38.
StataCorp. Stata statistical software: release 11. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP; 2009.
39.
Portes A, Bach RL. Latin journey: Cuban and Mexican immigrants in the United States, vol. xxi. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1985.
40.
Waters MC. Black identities: West Indian immigrant dreams and American realities. New York and Cambridge: Mass.: Russell Sage Foundation and Harvard University Press; 1999.
41.
Shetterly SM, et al. Self-rated health among Hispanic versus non-Hispanic white adults: the San Luis Valley Health and Aging Study. Am J Public Health. 1996;86(12):1798–801.PubMedCrossRef
42.
Vega WA, Amaro H. Latino outlook: good health, uncertain prognosis. Annu Rev Public Health. 1994;15(1):39–67.PubMedCrossRef
43.
Guillemin F, Bombardier C, Beaton D. Cross-cultural adaptation of health-related quality of life measures: literature review and proposed guidelines. J Clin Epidemiol. 1993;46(12):1417–32.PubMedCrossRef
44.
45.
Ortega AN, et al. Documentation status and parental concerns about development in young US children of Mexican origin. Acad Pediatr. 2009;9(4):278–82.PubMedCrossRef
46.
47.
Kulis S, Marsiglia F, Nieri T. Perceived ethnic discrimination versus acculturation stress: influences on substance use among Latino youth in the Southwest. J Health Soc Behav. 2009;50(4):443–59.PubMedCrossRef
48.
Martin J, Tuch S, Roman P. Problem drinking patterns among African Americans: the impacts of reports of discrimination, perceptions of prejudice, and “risky” coping strategies. J Health Soc Behav. 2003;44(3):408–25.PubMedCrossRef
49.
Okamoto J, et al. Perceived discrimination and substance use among Latino adolescents. Am J Health Behav. 2009;33(6):718–27.PubMedCrossRef
50.
Pérez D, Sribney W, Rodríguez M. Perceived discrimination and self-reported quality of care among Latinos in the United States. J Gen Intern Med. 2009;24(Suppl 3):548–54.PubMedCrossRef
Metadata
Title
Self-Reported Discrimination and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Whites, Blacks, Mexicans and Central Americans
Authors
Angie Denisse Otiniano
Gilbert C. Gee
Publication date
01-04-2012
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 2/2012
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9473-6

Other articles of this Issue 2/2012

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 2/2012 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Socioepidemiology of Cigarette Smoking Among Cambodian Americans in Long Beach, California

Original Paper

An Intervention to Address Interpersonal Violence Among Low-Income Midwestern Hispanic-American Teens

Original Paper

Border Crossing to Inject Drugs in Mexico Among Injection Drug Users in San Diego, California

Original Paper

Determinants of Physical Activity Among Somali Women Living in Maine

Original Paper

Preconception Wellness: Differences in Health by Immigrant Status

Original Paper

A Profile of US-Mexico Border Mobility Among a Stratified Random Sample of Hispanics Living in the El Paso-Juarez Area