Health status of White Americans: Difference between revisions
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== Article Draft == |
== Article Draft == |
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| ⚫ | White Americans, as the majority and comparatively advantaged racial group in the United States, have historically had better health outcomes than other oppressed racial groups in America.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Daniels|first=J|last2=Schulz|first2=A.J.|date=2006|title=Constructing whiteness in health disparities research|url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1291&context=hc_pubs|journal=Health and Illness at the Intersections of Gender, Race, and Class|publisher=Jossey-Bass Publishing|pages=89-127|via=Academic Works}}</ref>. However, in recent years, scholarly discourse has switched from recognition of the immense positive health outcomes of White Americans towards understanding the growing persistence of negative outcomes unique to this racial group. Scholars have discussed the effects of racial prejudice and their negative effect on health outcomes to not only those being oppressed, but also those being given privileges<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />. In addition to the effects of living in a racialized society, White Americans have the highest rate of suicide and lifetime psychiatric disorders than any other ethnicity or racial category (needs source). In conjunction with these psychiatric issues, there are higher rates of alcohol usage as lower levels of psychological flourishing.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Malat|first=Jennifer|last2=Mayorga-Gallo|first2=Sarah|last3=Williams|first3=David R.|date=2018-02|title=The effects of whiteness on the health of whites in the USA|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.06.034|journal=Social Science & Medicine|volume=199|pages=148–156|doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.06.034|issn=0277-9536}}</ref> Given this information, the health status of White Americans has gained increasing importance due to the differences in health outcomes between White Americans and White people from other parts of the world. |
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== Health Advantages == |
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| ⚫ | White Americans |
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Produce a section listing some comparative health advantages of white Americans, either historically or recently. |
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=== Life Expectancy === |
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| ⚫ | |||
Discuss the white advantage, usually presented vis a vis Black Americans, in life expectancy, including the causes of death that it appears on, as presented here. |
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==== Recent Declining Status ==== |
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Discuss the fact that life expectancy has sometimes been declining in recent years for whites collectively, and usually for non-college-educated whites. See Case and Denton, among other sources. |
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| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | For the purposes of this article, the racism that is being referred to is a structural racism rather than interpersonal prejudice and discrimination. This system is composed of a unequal power dynamic that allows for members of the dominating social group to obtain unearned societal privilege through ideology and behavior without intention or dislike of the non dominant group<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lee|first=Hedwig|last2=Hicken|first2=Margaret T.|date=2018-10-03|title=Racism and the Health of White Americans|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2018.1513607|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics|volume=18|issue=10|pages=21–23|doi=10.1080/15265161.2018.1513607|issn=1526-5161}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Williams|first=David R.|last2=Lawrence|first2=Jourdyn A.|last3=Davis|first3=Brigette A.|date=2019-04|title=Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750|journal=Annual Review of Public Health|volume=40|issue=1|pages=105–125|doi=10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750|issn=0163-7525}}</ref>. |
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| ⚫ | For the purposes of this article, the racism that is being referred to is a structural racism rather than interpersonal prejudice and discrimination. This system is composed of a unequal power dynamic that allows for members of the dominating social group to obtain unearned societal privilege through ideology and behavior without intention or dislike of the non dominant group<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Lee|first=Hedwig|last2=Hicken|first2=Margaret T.|date=2018-10-03|title=Racism and the Health of White Americans|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2018.1513607|journal=The American Journal of Bioethics|volume=18|issue=10|pages=21–23|doi=10.1080/15265161.2018.1513607|issn=1526-5161}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Williams|first=David R.|last2=Lawrence|first2=Jourdyn A.|last3=Davis|first3=Brigette A.|date=2019-04|title=Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750|journal=Annual Review of Public Health|volume=40|issue=1|pages=105–125|doi=10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750|issn=0163-7525}}</ref>. |
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Due to the racialized environment that people experience in the United States, scholars have wondered whether living in areas of high levels of racial prejudice negatively impact the health of individuals living there. There are many pathways that link racism to poor health outcomes. Economic injustice and social deprivation, environmental and occupational health inequalities, psychosocial trauma, inadequate health care, state-sanctioned violence and alienation from property, and political exclusion are some of these pathways. <ref>{{Cite journal|last=Krieger|first=Nancy|date=2021-04-15|title=Structural Racism, Health Inequities, and the Two-Edged Sword of Data: Structural Problems Require Structural Solutions|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.655447|journal=Frontiers in Public Health|volume=9|doi=10.3389/fpubh.2021.655447|issn=2296-2565}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> While it has been understood that racism and prejudice negatively affect the health of the individuals who are being discriminated against, there is reason to believe that simply living in an area with racial disparities and tension can be harmful regardless of whether the person holds these beliefs or not<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Lee|first=Yeonjin|last2=Muennig|first2=Peter|last3=Kawachi|first3=Ichiro|last4=Hatzenbuehler|first4=Mark L.|date=2015-11|title=Effects of Racial Prejudice on the Health of Communities: A Multilevel Survival Analysis|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4605182/|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=105|issue=11|pages=2349–2355|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2015.302776|issn=0090-0036|pmc=4605182|pmid=26378850}}</ref>. States in the US that had higher levels of "collective disrespect" toward Black people had higher age-adjusted mortality rates for both Black and White people<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kawachi|first=I|last2=Kennedy|first2=B P|last3=Lochner|first3=K|last4=Prothrow-Stith|first4=D|date=1997-09-XX|title=Social capital, income inequality, and mortality.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/ajph.87.9.1491|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=87|issue=9|pages=1491–1498|doi=10.2105/ajph.87.9.1491|issn=0090-0036}}</ref> . Collective disrespect level was measured through aggregate responses to a question given regarding people's attitudes toward why Black people had worse jobs, incomes, and housing than White people. Lee et al built off of these results by combining existing research to investigate the joint effects of mortality of community level and individual level racial prejudice (add source). This study found that there was higher risks of mortality were associated with being male, advanced age, lower socioeconomic status, race, and being divorced or widowed. However, when community-level prejudice was added in to their model, higher levels of anti-Black prejudice increased the odds of participant mortality by 31%<ref name=":2" />. They also found a relationship between individuals with less attitudes of racial prejudice who lived in areas of higher community level prejudice to have the highest level of mortality risk compared even to individuals with higher racial prejudice living in higher prejudice communities<ref name=":2" />. Consequently, community level racial prejudice is a stronger predictor of mortality than socioeconomic status and racial residential segregation. |
Due to the racialized environment that people experience in the United States, scholars have wondered whether living in areas of high levels of racial prejudice negatively impact the health of individuals living there. There are many pathways that link racism to poor health outcomes. Economic injustice and social deprivation, environmental and occupational health inequalities, psychosocial trauma, inadequate health care, state-sanctioned violence and alienation from property, and political exclusion are some of these pathways. <ref>{{Cite journal|last=Krieger|first=Nancy|date=2021-04-15|title=Structural Racism, Health Inequities, and the Two-Edged Sword of Data: Structural Problems Require Structural Solutions|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.655447|journal=Frontiers in Public Health|volume=9|doi=10.3389/fpubh.2021.655447|issn=2296-2565}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> While it has been understood that racism and prejudice negatively affect the health of the individuals who are being discriminated against, there is reason to believe that simply living in an area with racial disparities and tension can be harmful regardless of whether the person holds these beliefs or not<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Lee|first=Yeonjin|last2=Muennig|first2=Peter|last3=Kawachi|first3=Ichiro|last4=Hatzenbuehler|first4=Mark L.|date=2015-11|title=Effects of Racial Prejudice on the Health of Communities: A Multilevel Survival Analysis|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4605182/|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=105|issue=11|pages=2349–2355|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2015.302776|issn=0090-0036|pmc=4605182|pmid=26378850}}</ref>. States in the US that had higher levels of "collective disrespect" toward Black people had higher age-adjusted mortality rates for both Black and White people<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kawachi|first=I|last2=Kennedy|first2=B P|last3=Lochner|first3=K|last4=Prothrow-Stith|first4=D|date=1997-09-XX|title=Social capital, income inequality, and mortality.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/ajph.87.9.1491|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=87|issue=9|pages=1491–1498|doi=10.2105/ajph.87.9.1491|issn=0090-0036}}</ref> . Collective disrespect level was measured through aggregate responses to a question given regarding people's attitudes toward why Black people had worse jobs, incomes, and housing than White people. Lee et al built off of these results by combining existing research to investigate the joint effects of mortality of community level and individual level racial prejudice (add source). This study found that there was higher risks of mortality were associated with being male, advanced age, lower socioeconomic status, race, and being divorced or widowed. However, when community-level prejudice was added in to their model, higher levels of anti-Black prejudice increased the odds of participant mortality by 31%<ref name=":2" />. They also found a relationship between individuals with less attitudes of racial prejudice who lived in areas of higher community level prejudice to have the highest level of mortality risk compared even to individuals with higher racial prejudice living in higher prejudice communities<ref name=":2" />. Consequently, community level racial prejudice is a stronger predictor of mortality than socioeconomic status and racial residential segregation. |
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=== ''Dying of Whiteness (2019)'' === |
=== ''Dying of Whiteness (2019)'' === |
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In 2019 Dr. Jonathan Metzl published ''Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland''. This book explores further the effects of living in areas with high levels of racial resentment and prejudice. The book also notes the hypocrisy of White people adopting political views that negatively affect the health outcomes of White Americans<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boyd|first=Rhea W|date=2020-01|title=Despair doesn't kill, defending whiteness does|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(19)33147-2|journal=The Lancet|volume=395|issue=10218|pages=105–106|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(19)33147-2|issn=0140-6736}}</ref>. For example, Metzl found that through an anti-government rhetoric, Whites tended to reject the Affordable Care Act expansion, oppose adoption of stricter gun laws, and resist tax cuts intended to build infrastructure in areas concentrated with working-class White populations<ref>{{Citation|last=author.|first=Metzl, Jonathan, 1964-|title=Dying of whiteness : how the politics of racial resentment is killing America's Heartland|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1090799098|isbn=978-1-5491-2581-2|oclc=1090799098|access-date=2021-04-21}}</ref>. His ethnographic research for the book suggests that the politics of racial resentment creates sentiments about government that would ultimately harm life expectancy in a variety of ways for White individuals. The more concerning trend that this book reinforces is the lack of acknowledgement among White individuals of macro-level social determinants of health due to a focus on individual effort<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Efird|first=Caroline R.|last2=Lightfoot|first2=Alexandra F.|date=2020-05|title=Missing Mayberry: How whiteness shapes perceptions of health among white Americans in a rural Southern community|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112967|journal=Social Science & Medicine|volume=253|pages=112967|doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112967|issn=0277-9536}}</ref>. This nostalgic ideation of hard-work and self-sufficiency negates the impacts of larger health factors and further creates an environment that is not conducive to positive health outcomes. |
In 2019 Dr. Jonathan Metzl published ''Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland''. This book explores further the effects of living in areas with high levels of racial resentment and prejudice. The book also notes the hypocrisy of White people adopting political views that negatively affect the health outcomes of White Americans<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boyd|first=Rhea W|date=2020-01|title=Despair doesn't kill, defending whiteness does|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(19)33147-2|journal=The Lancet|volume=395|issue=10218|pages=105–106|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(19)33147-2|issn=0140-6736}}</ref>. For example, Metzl found that through an anti-government rhetoric, Whites tended to reject the Affordable Care Act expansion, oppose adoption of stricter gun laws, and resist tax cuts intended to build infrastructure in areas concentrated with working-class White populations<ref>{{Citation|last=author.|first=Metzl, Jonathan, 1964-|title=Dying of whiteness : how the politics of racial resentment is killing America's Heartland|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1090799098|isbn=978-1-5491-2581-2|oclc=1090799098|access-date=2021-04-21}}</ref>. His ethnographic research for the book suggests that the politics of racial resentment creates sentiments about government that would ultimately harm life expectancy in a variety of ways for White individuals. The more concerning trend that this book reinforces is the lack of acknowledgement among White individuals of macro-level social determinants of health due to a focus on individual effort<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Efird|first=Caroline R.|last2=Lightfoot|first2=Alexandra F.|date=2020-05|title=Missing Mayberry: How whiteness shapes perceptions of health among white Americans in a rural Southern community|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112967|journal=Social Science & Medicine|volume=253|pages=112967|doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112967|issn=0277-9536}}</ref>. This nostalgic ideation of hard-work and self-sufficiency negates the impacts of larger health factors and further creates an environment that is not conducive to positive health outcomes. |
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== [[Diseases of despair|Diseases of Despair]] == |
== [[Diseases of despair|Diseases of Despair]] == |
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In the United States, there is a classification of behavior-related medical conditions that is called the [[diseases of despair]]. The three different diseases in this category is drug or [[Alcohol intoxication|alcohol overdose,]] [[suicide]], and [[alcoholic liver disease]]. The highest frequency of these deadly diseases is among middle-age working class White people<ref>{{Cite book|last=author.|first=Case, Anne,|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1235966400|title=Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism|isbn=0-691-21706-8|oclc=1235966400}}</ref>. Many have argued that the decline in life expectancy among Whites in the US that is associated with diseases of despair (probably need source here). However, others have raised the idea that diseases of despair are the result of worsening psychosocial problems that extend back well into the 1980's and are of concern to the United States as a whole<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Muennig|first=Peter A.|last2=Reynolds|first2=Megan|last3=Fink|first3=David S.|last4=Zafari|first4=Zafar|last5=Geronimus|first5=Arline T.|date=2018-12|title=America’s Declining Well-Being, Health, and Life Expectancy: Not Just a White Problem|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2018.304585|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=108|issue=12|pages=1626–1631|doi=10.2105/ajph.2018.304585|issn=0090-0036}}</ref>. Although these behaviors are thought to be seen with groups who experience lack of social and [[Socioeconomic mobility in the United States|economic mobility]], there are increasing risk factors involved with poor mental health. Despite the vastly different economic trends for White and Black Americans, Whites are more likely to perceive themselves as having lower social class and are less optimistic about their financial future.<ref>{{Citation|last=Graham|first=Carol|title=Introduction|date=2017-03-28|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691169460.003.0001|work=Happiness for All?|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-16946-0|access-date=2021-04-21}}</ref> This trend among middle class Whites points to increased need for research on the health status of Whites due to continuing rise in premature death caused by these diseases (source for trends in premature death). Further, this trend exemplifies the problematic nature of research using Whites as a comparative standard to other ethnic and racial backgrounds in the United States. |
In the United States, there is a classification of behavior-related medical conditions that is called the [[diseases of despair]]. The three different diseases in this category is drug or [[Alcohol intoxication|alcohol overdose,]] [[suicide]], and [[alcoholic liver disease]]. The highest frequency of these deadly diseases is among middle-age working class White people<ref>{{Cite book|last=author.|first=Case, Anne,|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1235966400|title=Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism|isbn=0-691-21706-8|oclc=1235966400}}</ref>. Many have argued that the decline in life expectancy among Whites in the US that is associated with diseases of despair (probably need source here). However, others have raised the idea that diseases of despair are the result of worsening psychosocial problems that extend back well into the 1980's and are of concern to the United States as a whole<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Muennig|first=Peter A.|last2=Reynolds|first2=Megan|last3=Fink|first3=David S.|last4=Zafari|first4=Zafar|last5=Geronimus|first5=Arline T.|date=2018-12|title=America’s Declining Well-Being, Health, and Life Expectancy: Not Just a White Problem|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2018.304585|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=108|issue=12|pages=1626–1631|doi=10.2105/ajph.2018.304585|issn=0090-0036}}</ref>. Although these behaviors are thought to be seen with groups who experience lack of social and [[Socioeconomic mobility in the United States|economic mobility]], there are increasing risk factors involved with poor mental health. Despite the vastly different economic trends for White and Black Americans, Whites are more likely to perceive themselves as having lower social class and are less optimistic about their financial future.<ref>{{Citation|last=Graham|first=Carol|title=Introduction|date=2017-03-28|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691169460.003.0001|work=Happiness for All?|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-16946-0|access-date=2021-04-21}}</ref> This trend among middle class Whites points to increased need for research on the health status of Whites due to continuing rise in premature death caused by these diseases (source for trends in premature death). Further, this trend exemplifies the problematic nature of research using Whites as a comparative standard to other ethnic and racial backgrounds in the United States. |
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Compared to other White global populations, White Americans are at disparate risk of poor health outcomes partly due to the incidence of disease of despair. The life expectancy of Whites in the United States ranks behind countries such as South Korea, Chile, Greece, Cyprus, and Cuba<ref name=":0" />. In addition, when comparing the health of White Americans to White people from rich countries, there is better health outcomes (for whom?) from birth to age 75(source). Furthermore, Whites from the highest socioeconomic levels in America had comparable health outcome rates to Whites from England who had the lowest income and education levels.<ref>{{Cite book|last=al.|first=Banks, James ... et|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/796074942|title=Living in the 21st century : older people in England : the 2006 English longitudinal study of ageing (wave 3) : July 2008|date=2008|publisher=The Institute for Fiscal Studies|isbn=978-1-903274-54-5|oclc=796074942}}</ref> Malat et al developed a framework in 2016 that aims to understand the relationship between Whiteness and health(source). In a study of health disparities across Canada and the United States, the US consistently had far more pronounced racial health inequities(source). Furthermore, the extent of racial health inequities are heavily dependent on the society in which they are occur<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Siddiqi|first=A|last2=Nguyen|first2=Q C|date=2009-06-18|title=A cross-national comparative perspective on racial inequities in health: the USA versus Canada|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2008.085068|journal=Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health|volume=64|issue=01|pages=29–35|doi=10.1136/jech.2008.085068|issn=0143-005X}}</ref>. These researchers describe the US as being characterized by racial and ethnic segregation, and policies that distribute health resources, housing, and education unequally. |
Compared to other White global populations, White Americans are at disparate risk of poor health outcomes partly due to the incidence of disease of despair. The life expectancy of Whites in the United States ranks behind countries such as South Korea, Chile, Greece, Cyprus, and Cuba<ref name=":0" />. In addition, when comparing the health of White Americans to White people from rich countries, there is better health outcomes (for whom?) from birth to age 75(source). Furthermore, Whites from the highest socioeconomic levels in America had comparable health outcome rates to Whites from England who had the lowest income and education levels.<ref>{{Cite book|last=al.|first=Banks, James ... et|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/796074942|title=Living in the 21st century : older people in England : the 2006 English longitudinal study of ageing (wave 3) : July 2008|date=2008|publisher=The Institute for Fiscal Studies|isbn=978-1-903274-54-5|oclc=796074942}}</ref> Malat et al developed a framework in 2016 that aims to understand the relationship between Whiteness and health(source). In a study of health disparities across Canada and the United States, the US consistently had far more pronounced racial health inequities(source). Furthermore, the extent of racial health inequities are heavily dependent on the society in which they are occur<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Siddiqi|first=A|last2=Nguyen|first2=Q C|date=2009-06-18|title=A cross-national comparative perspective on racial inequities in health: the USA versus Canada|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2008.085068|journal=Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health|volume=64|issue=01|pages=29–35|doi=10.1136/jech.2008.085068|issn=0143-005X}}</ref>. These researchers describe the US as being characterized by racial and ethnic segregation, and policies that distribute health resources, housing, and education unequally. |
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== References == |
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[[Category:Wikipedia Student Program]] |
[[Category:Wikipedia Student Program]] |
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Article Draft
White Americans, as the majority and comparatively advantaged racial group in the United States, have historically had better health outcomes than other oppressed racial groups in America.[1]. However, in recent years, scholarly discourse has switched from recognition of the immense positive health outcomes of White Americans towards understanding the growing persistence of negative outcomes unique to this racial group. Scholars have discussed the effects of racial prejudice and their negative effect on health outcomes to not only those being oppressed, but also those being given privileges[2][3][4]. In addition to the effects of living in a racialized society, White Americans have the highest rate of suicide and lifetime psychiatric disorders than any other ethnicity or racial category (needs source). In conjunction with these psychiatric issues, there are higher rates of alcohol usage as lower levels of psychological flourishing.[2] Given this information, the health status of White Americans has gained increasing importance due to the differences in health outcomes between White Americans and White people from other parts of the world.
Health Advantages
Produce a section listing some comparative health advantages of white Americans, either historically or recently.
Life Expectancy
Discuss the white advantage, usually presented vis a vis Black Americans, in life expectancy, including the causes of death that it appears on, as presented here.
Recent Declining Status
Discuss the fact that life expectancy has sometimes been declining in recent years for whites collectively, and usually for non-college-educated whites. See Case and Denton, among other sources.
Effects of Racial Prejudice
For the purposes of this article, the racism that is being referred to is a structural racism rather than interpersonal prejudice and discrimination. This system is composed of a unequal power dynamic that allows for members of the dominating social group to obtain unearned societal privilege through ideology and behavior without intention or dislike of the non dominant group[3][5].
Due to the racialized environment that people experience in the United States, scholars have wondered whether living in areas of high levels of racial prejudice negatively impact the health of individuals living there. There are many pathways that link racism to poor health outcomes. Economic injustice and social deprivation, environmental and occupational health inequalities, psychosocial trauma, inadequate health care, state-sanctioned violence and alienation from property, and political exclusion are some of these pathways. [6][5] While it has been understood that racism and prejudice negatively affect the health of the individuals who are being discriminated against, there is reason to believe that simply living in an area with racial disparities and tension can be harmful regardless of whether the person holds these beliefs or not[4]. States in the US that had higher levels of "collective disrespect" toward Black people had higher age-adjusted mortality rates for both Black and White people[7] . Collective disrespect level was measured through aggregate responses to a question given regarding people's attitudes toward why Black people had worse jobs, incomes, and housing than White people. Lee et al built off of these results by combining existing research to investigate the joint effects of mortality of community level and individual level racial prejudice (add source). This study found that there was higher risks of mortality were associated with being male, advanced age, lower socioeconomic status, race, and being divorced or widowed. However, when community-level prejudice was added in to their model, higher levels of anti-Black prejudice increased the odds of participant mortality by 31%[4]. They also found a relationship between individuals with less attitudes of racial prejudice who lived in areas of higher community level prejudice to have the highest level of mortality risk compared even to individuals with higher racial prejudice living in higher prejudice communities[4]. Consequently, community level racial prejudice is a stronger predictor of mortality than socioeconomic status and racial residential segregation.
Likewise, in a study done on Hurricane Katrina survivors, researchers measured the relationship between perception of racism against African Americans among White and Black Americans. Similarly to the previously mentioned study, they found that perceptions of racism against African Americans were associated with negative mental health outcomes for Whites[8]. With all of this in mind, it is important to consider that measuring levels of racial prejudice and racial attitudes in general because of the variability of the way prejudice is presented, and the confounding variable of implicit bias in an individual's evaluation of themselves (incomplete sentence, needs revision).
Dying of Whiteness (2019)
In 2019 Dr. Jonathan Metzl published Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland. This book explores further the effects of living in areas with high levels of racial resentment and prejudice. The book also notes the hypocrisy of White people adopting political views that negatively affect the health outcomes of White Americans[9]. For example, Metzl found that through an anti-government rhetoric, Whites tended to reject the Affordable Care Act expansion, oppose adoption of stricter gun laws, and resist tax cuts intended to build infrastructure in areas concentrated with working-class White populations[10]. His ethnographic research for the book suggests that the politics of racial resentment creates sentiments about government that would ultimately harm life expectancy in a variety of ways for White individuals. The more concerning trend that this book reinforces is the lack of acknowledgement among White individuals of macro-level social determinants of health due to a focus on individual effort[11]. This nostalgic ideation of hard-work and self-sufficiency negates the impacts of larger health factors and further creates an environment that is not conducive to positive health outcomes.
In the United States, there is a classification of behavior-related medical conditions that is called the diseases of despair. The three different diseases in this category is drug or alcohol overdose, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease. The highest frequency of these deadly diseases is among middle-age working class White people[12]. Many have argued that the decline in life expectancy among Whites in the US that is associated with diseases of despair (probably need source here). However, others have raised the idea that diseases of despair are the result of worsening psychosocial problems that extend back well into the 1980's and are of concern to the United States as a whole[13]. Although these behaviors are thought to be seen with groups who experience lack of social and economic mobility, there are increasing risk factors involved with poor mental health. Despite the vastly different economic trends for White and Black Americans, Whites are more likely to perceive themselves as having lower social class and are less optimistic about their financial future.[14] This trend among middle class Whites points to increased need for research on the health status of Whites due to continuing rise in premature death caused by these diseases (source for trends in premature death). Further, this trend exemplifies the problematic nature of research using Whites as a comparative standard to other ethnic and racial backgrounds in the United States.
Opioid Epidemic
Between 2010 to the present, there has been an increase in opioid overdoses among White Americans, specifically in rural areas(source needed). Although this epidemic is not limited to White Americans, the increase in overdose deaths, emergency room visits related to opioid usage issues, and treatment for opioid addictions is well documented[15]. The director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, Dr. Andrew Kolodny, attributes the disparate opioid usage among White Americans compared to other racial groups to physicians increased propensity towards prescribing narcotics to White patients. Rhetoric from the War on Drugs has led to the persistent misperception that Black and Hispanic individuals are more likely to use and become addicted to drugs[16]. In this case, racial stereotyping has a protective effect on non-white populations (I'm not sure I understand what you mean by protective- the racial stereotype of minorities using drugs doesn't prevent them from using does it?).
Comparison to other Whites around the world
Compared to other White global populations, White Americans are at disparate risk of poor health outcomes partly due to the incidence of disease of despair. The life expectancy of Whites in the United States ranks behind countries such as South Korea, Chile, Greece, Cyprus, and Cuba[2]. In addition, when comparing the health of White Americans to White people from rich countries, there is better health outcomes (for whom?) from birth to age 75(source). Furthermore, Whites from the highest socioeconomic levels in America had comparable health outcome rates to Whites from England who had the lowest income and education levels.[17] Malat et al developed a framework in 2016 that aims to understand the relationship between Whiteness and health(source). In a study of health disparities across Canada and the United States, the US consistently had far more pronounced racial health inequities(source). Furthermore, the extent of racial health inequities are heavily dependent on the society in which they are occur[18]. These researchers describe the US as being characterized by racial and ethnic segregation, and policies that distribute health resources, housing, and education unequally.
References
- ^ Daniels, J; Schulz, A.J. (2006). "Constructing whiteness in health disparities research". Health and Illness at the Intersections of Gender, Race, and Class. Jossey-Bass Publishing: 89–127 – via Academic Works.
- ^ a b c Malat, Jennifer; Mayorga-Gallo, Sarah; Williams, David R. (2018-02). "The effects of whiteness on the health of whites in the USA". Social Science & Medicine. 199: 148–156. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.06.034. ISSN 0277-9536.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Lee, Hedwig; Hicken, Margaret T. (2018-10-03). "Racism and the Health of White Americans". The American Journal of Bioethics. 18 (10): 21–23. doi:10.1080/15265161.2018.1513607. ISSN 1526-5161.
- ^ a b c d Lee, Yeonjin; Muennig, Peter; Kawachi, Ichiro; Hatzenbuehler, Mark L. (2015-11). "Effects of Racial Prejudice on the Health of Communities: A Multilevel Survival Analysis". American Journal of Public Health. 105 (11): 2349–2355. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302776. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 4605182. PMID 26378850.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Williams, David R.; Lawrence, Jourdyn A.; Davis, Brigette A. (2019-04). "Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research". Annual Review of Public Health. 40 (1): 105–125. doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750. ISSN 0163-7525.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Krieger, Nancy (2021-04-15). "Structural Racism, Health Inequities, and the Two-Edged Sword of Data: Structural Problems Require Structural Solutions". Frontiers in Public Health. 9. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.655447. ISSN 2296-2565.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Kawachi, I; Kennedy, B P; Lochner, K; Prothrow-Stith, D (1997-09-XX). "Social capital, income inequality, and mortality". American Journal of Public Health. 87 (9): 1491–1498. doi:10.2105/ajph.87.9.1491. ISSN 0090-0036.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Blodorn, Alison; O’Brien, Laurie T. (2011-03-02). "Perceptions of Racism in Hurricane Katrina-Related Events: Implications for Collective Guilt and Mental Health Among White Americans". Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. 11 (1): 127–140. doi:10.1111/j.1530-2415.2011.01237.x. ISSN 1529-7489.
- ^ Boyd, Rhea W (2020-01). "Despair doesn't kill, defending whiteness does". The Lancet. 395 (10218): 105–106. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(19)33147-2. ISSN 0140-6736.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ author., Metzl, Jonathan, 1964-, Dying of whiteness : how the politics of racial resentment is killing America's Heartland, ISBN 978-1-5491-2581-2, OCLC 1090799098, retrieved 2021-04-21
{{citation}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Efird, Caroline R.; Lightfoot, Alexandra F. (2020-05). "Missing Mayberry: How whiteness shapes perceptions of health among white Americans in a rural Southern community". Social Science & Medicine. 253: 112967. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112967. ISSN 0277-9536.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ author., Case, Anne,. Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism. ISBN 0-691-21706-8. OCLC 1235966400.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Muennig, Peter A.; Reynolds, Megan; Fink, David S.; Zafari, Zafar; Geronimus, Arline T. (2018-12). "America's Declining Well-Being, Health, and Life Expectancy: Not Just a White Problem". American Journal of Public Health. 108 (12): 1626–1631. doi:10.2105/ajph.2018.304585. ISSN 0090-0036.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Graham, Carol (2017-03-28), "Introduction", Happiness for All?, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-16946-0, retrieved 2021-04-21
- ^ King, Noel; Kolodny, Andrew (Nov. 4th, 2017). "Why Is The Opioid Epidemic Overwhelmingly White?". National Public Radio.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Netherland, Julie; Hansen, Helena B. (2016-06-06). "The War on Drugs That Wasn't: Wasted Whiteness, "Dirty Doctors," and Race in Media Coverage of Prescription Opioid Misuse". Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry. 40 (4): 664–686. doi:10.1007/s11013-016-9496-5. ISSN 0165-005X.
- ^ al., Banks, James ... et (2008). Living in the 21st century : older people in England : the 2006 English longitudinal study of ageing (wave 3) : July 2008. The Institute for Fiscal Studies. ISBN 978-1-903274-54-5. OCLC 796074942.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Siddiqi, A; Nguyen, Q C (2009-06-18). "A cross-national comparative perspective on racial inequities in health: the USA versus Canada". Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 64 (01): 29–35. doi:10.1136/jech.2008.085068. ISSN 0143-005X.