Race and Social Problems最新文献

The issue of reparations to the descendants of persons enslaved in the United States is receiving increasing attention in both the public sphere (e.g., 2020 Presidential campaigns) and in academic circles. However, the term “reparations” often goes undefined in such discussions, despite the fact that different types of government action (e.g., an apology versus financial payments) are associated with varying levels of public opposition (or support). We also know little about how attitudes toward reparations explicitly targeting the consequences of slavery differ from attitudes toward more generic race-targeted policies. Drawing on data from an online survey of white Americans conducted in 2016, we examine how levels of opposition to a range of different race-targeted government actions varies by (1) the type and aims of the intervention, and (2) whites’ social locations and political orientations. Regarding policy type, whites are least opposed to selected symbolic reparations (e.g., a memorial to enslaved persons) and to policies designed to ensure “fair treatment” of black Americans in the workplace. Whites are most opposed to reparations in the form of direct financial payments to black Americans and to policies involving “preferential treatment” of blacks in the workplace. In addition, whites who are older, more conservative, and who view race relations as unimportant are most opposed to the reparations and other race-based policies we examine. We conclude with suggestions for future work on this timely topic.

Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between black residential segregation and poor health outcomes. However, this association is less clear for the segregation of other racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States, such as Latinos and Asians. We argue that immigration may moderate this relationship, and that this could help explain these disparate results. We test this using multilevel statistical models of individual-level health data nested within Census tracts in a study of the Houston area using the 2009–2014 Kinder Houston Area Survey, the 2010 U.S. Census, and the 2006–2010 American Community Survey. We find that black and Latino residential segregation is associated with greater poor health reporting, though not for Asian segregation. Further, we find that immigration moderates this relationship for Latino segregation, such that where tract-level immigration is low, Latino segregation is positively related to poor health, but that this slope becomes flatter as immigration increases.

Introduction: Latinx college students are at high risk of suffering from depressive symptoms. A factor posited to influence depressive symptoms among Latinx college students is racial/ethnic discrimination. However, the mechanisms which link racial/ethnic discrimination to depressive symptoms are not well understood. This study examined the mediating role of racism-related vigilance and sleep-related factors (i.e., sleep quality, sleep efficiency) on the relationship between perceived intergroup racial/ethnic discrimination and depressive symptoms.

Methods: Participants were 194 Latinx college students enrolled at a Midwestern university designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Path analysis was conducted to investigate whether racism-related vigilance and sleep-related factors (i.e. sleep quality, sleep efficiency) are potential pathways in the relationship between intergroup racial/ethnic discrimination and depressive symptoms.

Results: Path analysis revealed that racism-related vigilance and sleep quality sequentially mediated the effect of perceived intergroup racial/ethnic discrimination on depressive symptoms. Sleep efficiency did not mediate the relationship between racial/ethnic discrimination and depressive symptoms.

Discussion: This study is among the first to document that intergroup racial/ethnic discrimination is negatively related to mental health through both cognitive and behavioral mechanisms. This research has important implications for understanding how discrimination may influence mental health outcomes among Latinx college students.