Ryon J Cobb | Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (original) (raw)

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles by Ryon J Cobb

Perceived COVID-19 Threat Increases Psychological Distress Among Black Americans , 2020

The present study used data from the American Trends Panel to examine the interplay between the p... more The present study used data from the American Trends Panel to examine the interplay between the perceived COVID-19 threat, discriminatory beliefs in medical settings, and psychological distress among Black Americans. We measured psychological distress as an average of five items modified from two established scales and used self-reports of perceived COVID-19 threat and discriminatory beliefs as focal predictors. Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine these relationships. Holding all else constant, we found that the perception that the coronavirus outbreak was a major threat to one's health and the belief that Black Americans face racial discrimination in medical settings were both positively and significantly associated with higher levels of psychological distress. We also found a significant perceived COVID-19 threat x belief about discrimination in medical settings interaction in the full model. Future studies should assess how these relationships vary over time.

Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 2019

Background: With advancing age there is an increase in the time of and the number of experiences ... more Background: With advancing age there is an increase in the time of and the number of experiences with psychosocial stressors that may lead to the initiation and/or progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our study tests whether one type of experience, everyday discrimination, predicts kidney function among middle and older adults.

Methods: The data were from 10,973 respondents (ages 52-100) in the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing biennial nationally representative survey of older adults in the United States. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) derives from the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. Our indicator of everyday discrimination is drawn from self-reports from respondents. Ordinary Least Squared regression (OLS) models with robust standard errors are applied to test hypotheses regarding the link between everyday discrimination and kidney function.

Results: Everyday discrimination was associated with poorer kidney function among respondents in our study. Respondents with higher everyday discrimination scores had lower eGFR after adjusting for demographic characteristics (B=-1.35, p<.05), and while attenuated, remained significant (B=-.79, p<.05) after further adjustments for clinical, health behavior, and socioeconomic covariates.

Conclusions: Our study suggests everyday discrimination is independently associated with lower eGFR. These findings highlight the importance of psychosocial factors in predicting insufficiency in kidney function among middle-aged and older adults.

Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 2018

BACKGROUND. This study examines the relationship between self-reported instances of major discrim... more BACKGROUND. This study examines the relationship between self-reported instances of major discrimination and inflammation among older adults, and explores whether this relationship varies in accordance with race/ethnicity. We hypothesized that self-reported instances of major discrimination would be associated with a higher likelihood of high-risk inflammation, and that this relationship would be stronger for racial/ethnic minorities than Whites.

METHODS. Data from the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), an ongoing biennial nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States, was used to collect measures of self-reported instances of major discrimination and high-risk C-reactive protein (CRP), which was assayed from blood samples. Modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors was applied to estimate the prevalence ratios of self-reported instances of major discrimination, as it relates to high-risk CRP (CRP≥ 22 kg/m2), and test whether this relationship varies by race/ethnicity.

RESULTS. Respondents who experienced any instances of major discrimination had a higher likelihood of high-risk CRP (prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07–1.22) than those who did not report experiencing any instances of major discrimination. The relationship between any self-reported instance of major discrimination and high-risk CRP was weaker for Blacks than Whites (PR: 0.81, 95% CI = 0.69–0.95).

CONCLUSIONS. Self-reported instances of major discrimination is associated with a higher likelihood of high-risk CRP among older adults; this association is especially pronounced among older Whites. Future studies should examine whether the interplay between self-reported instances of major discrimination, race/ethnicity, and high-risk CRP changes over time.

This study examined the association between discrimination and chronic kidney disease (CKD) among... more This study examined the association between discrimination and chronic kidney disease (CKD) among Caribbean blacks and how this association varies by marital status, educational attainment, and length of U.S. residency within the frameworks for the stress buffering hypothesis and stress process model. The analysis was based on the Caribbean black subsample of the National Survey of American Life (N = 1551). Logistic regression models were conducted to test the aims of this study. The findings indicate that the association between discrimination and CKD varied by length of U.S. residency, marital status, and education. Overall, the findings demonstrate the importance of considering immigration and sociodemographic context when investigating the relation between discrimination and CKD in immigrant populations.

The Black Church has remained an important topic of scholarly interest for more than a century, b... more The Black Church has remained an important topic of scholarly interest for more than a century, but less attention has been devoted to the consequences of contrasting denominational affiliations within the African-American Protestant religious tradition. We advance a new coding scheme that allows researchers to measure and test black affiliates across a range of denominations with roots inside and outside of the greater Black Church. Findings from the 1972 to 2014 General Social Surveys indicate that our " Black Reltrad " syntax more meticulously captures similarities and differences among African Americans with respect to religious sensibilities, religious-related social attitudes, and engagement in black politics than extant coding schemes. Consequently, although the legacy of racial discrimination and inequality binds blacks together, scholars must also recognize differences within the African-American Protestant religious tradition. INTRODUCTION The Black Church is one of the most vibrant and vital religious institutions in the United States. For nearly four centuries, it has remained a central feature of the black experience by helping African Americans navigate the hardships of slavery and segregation, as well as galvanize victories of the civil rights movement and the election of our nation's first black president. While it is widely known that most blacks are Baptist, Methodist, or Pentecostal, comparatively few studies assess consequences of the wide range of denominational affiliations that fall under the umbrella of the " Greater Black Church " (Lincoln and Mamiya 1990). This void in our knowledge is attributable to the established principle that for African Americans, differences across Protestant affiliations pale in comparison to structural and cultural similarities resulting from the legacy of racial discrimination and inequality (Brown). Although we do not dispute this claim, the goal of the current project is to document the wealth of faith-based variation within the African-American Protestant religious tradition. This article enhances our knowledge of the extent of religious diversity and commonality among African Americans. More specifically, we advance a new coding scheme for classifying religious affiliations among black respondents in the 1972–2014 General Social Surveys, and test its predictive power alongside the two most relevant and comparable coding schemes in the current literature. As shown here, faith-based variation among blacks can widely differ depending upon the method in which scholars categorize respondents' religious affiliations. Our Acknowledgments: We would like to thank Jerry Z. Park, Michael Emerson, and several anonymous reviewers for their insightful recommendations on a previous draft of this article.

Ethnicity and Health, 2018

Objective: This paper examines how mortality covaries with observed skin tone among blacks and i... more Objective: This paper examines how mortality covaries with observed skin tone among blacks and in relation to whites. Additionally, the study analyzes the extent to which social factors such as socioeconomic status affect this relationship.

Design: This study uses data from the 1982 General Social Survey (N=1,689) data linked to the National Death Index until 2008. We use this data to examine the links between race, observed skin tone among blacks, and all-cause mortality. Piecewise exponential hazard modeling was used to estimate disparities in skin tone mortality among blacks, and relative to whites. The multivariate models control for age, education, gender, region, metropolitan statistical area, marital status, labor force status, and household income.

Results: Observed skin tone is a significant determinant of mortality among blacks and in relation to whites. Very light and very dark skinned blacks had the lowest mortality hazards among blacks, while respondents with medium and dark brown skin experienced significantly higher mortality. The observed skin tone mortality disparities covaried with education; there are significant mortality disparities across observed skin tone groups among black respondents with high school or more education, and nonsignificant disparities among those with less education.

Conclusion: It is crucial to identify the social processes driving racial disparities in health and mortality. The findings suggest that the nuanced social experiences of blacks with different observed skin tones markedly change the experience of racial inequality. Research on the nuanced social processes that connect differences in observed skin tone to health outcomes promises to better illuminate the experience of racial inequality and policy mechanisms we can use to undermine it.

Biodemography and Social Biology, 2017

The objective of this study was to examine the association between discrimination and obesity amo... more The objective of this study was to examine the association between discrimination and obesity among a U.S. nationally representative sample of African-American men. Data from the 2001–2003 National Survey of American Life (NSAL) were used to collect measures of everyday and major discrimination, and body mass index (BMI) taken from self-reports. Poisson regression with robust standard errors was applied to estimate the prevalence ratios of everyday and major discrimination as it relates to obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2), controlling for potential confounders. In the model that included both everyday and major discrimination, men who experienced any major discrimination had a higher likelihood of obesity (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06, 1.66) than those who did not experience any major discrimination, controlling for age, marital status, income, education, major stressors, two or more chronic conditions, and physical activity. Exposure to any major discrimination was found to be associated with obesity in African-American men. Future studies among this population are needed to examine whether the observed changes in self-reports of major discrimination are associated with obesity, measured by BMI, over time. The health of African-American men must be a priority in reducing excess disparities in disease, disability, and death.

Religions

Objective. Research suggests that congregational characteristics are associated with the racial a... more Objective. Research suggests that congregational characteristics are associated with the racial attitudes of American churchgoers. This study examines the relationship between congregational size and beliefs about the Black/White socioeconomic gap among religious adherents. Method. Drawing upon data from the General Social Survey and the National Congregations Study, we fit binary logistic regression models to estimate the association between congregational size and Americans’ explanations of Black/White economic inequality. Results. Findings reveal that attendees of larger congregations are less likely than attendees of smaller congregations to explain racial inequality as the result of the racial discrimination. The likelihood of explaining racial inequality in terms of personal motivation does not vary by congregation size. Conclusion. Despite the growing diversity in larger congregations in America, such congregations may steer attendees’ views about racial inequality away from systemic/structural factors, which may attenuate the ability of such congregations to bridge racial divisions.

This study examines the extent to which the racial composition of a congregation moderates explan... more This study examines the extent to which the racial composition of a congregation moderates explanations for Black/White inequality among White, Black, and Hispanic congregants. Using nationally representative data from General Social Surveys and National Congregations Studies, we find that religiously affiliated Blacks and Hispanics tend to hold different racial attitudes than religiously affiliated Whites, but these differences largely disappear inside multiracial congregations. Importantly, we find that attending a multiracial congregation is unassociated with Whites' explanations for racial inequality, and Blacks who attend multiracial congregations are actually less likely to affirm structural explanations for Black/White inequality than Blacks in nonmultiracial congregations or Whites in multiracial congregations. We find little evidence that multiracial congregations promote progressive racial views among attendees of any race or ethnicity. Rather, our findings suggest that multiracial congregations (1) leave dominant White racial frames unchallenged, potentially influencing minority attendees to embrace such frames and/or (2) attract racial minorities who are more likely to embrace those frames in the first place.

Objective. Prior research suggests that congregational characteristics are associated with the ra... more Objective. Prior research suggests that congregational characteristics are associated with the racial attitudes of Black churchgoers. This study examines the relationship between congregational diversity and beliefs about the Black/White socioeconomic gap among Black religious adherents.

Method. Drawing upon pooled data from the General Social Survey and the National Congregations Study, we fit binary logistic regression models to estimate the association between congregational diversity and the explanations of Black/White economic inequality among Black religious adherents.

Results. Findings from our study reveal that congregational diversity is one factor that accounts for intragroup differences in racial attitudes among Black religious affiliates. Relative to Blacks that attend religious services in overwhelmingly Black congregations, Blacks that attend religious services in congregations that are overwhelmingly White are significantly less likely to attribute Black/White socioeconomic gaps to a lack of educational opportunities.

Conclusion. Our study demonstrates that congregational diversity is a source of intragroup variation in racial attitudes among Black religious affiliates, which may attenuate the ability of such congregations to bridge racial divisions.

Self-identified race, socially assigned skin tone, and adult physiological dysregulation: Assessing multiple dimensions of " race " in health disparities research

Despite a general acceptance of " race " as a social, rather than biological construct in the soc... more Despite a general acceptance of " race " as a social, rather than biological construct in the social sciences, racial health disparities research has given less consideration to the dimensions of race that may be most important for shaping persistent disparities in adult physical health status. In this study, we incorporate the social constructionist view that race is multidimensional to evaluate the health significance of two measures of race, racial self-identification and the socially perceived skin tone of black Americans, in a sample of black and white adults in the Nashville Stress and Health Study (N ¼1186). First, we use the approach most common in disparities research—comparing group differences in an outcome—to consider self-identified racial differences in allostatic load (AL), a cumulative biological indicator of physical dysregulation. Second, we examine intragroup variations in AL among blacks by skin tone (i.e. light, brown, or dark skin). Third, we assess whether the magnitude of black-white disparities are equal across black skin tone subgroups. Consistent with prior research, we find significantly higher rates of dysre-gulation among blacks. However, our results also show that racial differences in AL vary by blacks' skin tone; AL disparities are largest between whites and dark-skinned blacks and smallest between whites and light-skinned blacks. This study highlights the importance of blacks' skin tone as a marker of socially assigned race for shaping intragroup and intergroup variations in adult physiological dysregula-tion. These results demonstrate the importance of assessing multiple dimensions of race in disparities research, as this approach may better capture the various mechanisms by which " race " continues to shape health.

United by Faith? Race/Ethnicity, Congregational Diversity, and Explanations of Racial Inequality, Jan 28, 2015

This study examines the extent to which the racial composition of a congregation moderates explan... more This study examines the extent to which the racial composition of a congregation moderates explanations for Black/White inequality among White, Black, and Hispanic congregants. Using nationally representative data from General Social Surveys and National Congregations Studies, we find that religiously affiliated Blacks and Hispanics tend to hold different racial attitudes than religiously affiliated Whites, but these differences largely disappear inside multiracial congregations. Importantly, we find that attending a multiracial congregation is unassociated with Whites’ explanations for racial inequality, and Blacks who attend multiracial congregations are actually less likely to affirm structural explanations for Black/White inequality than Blacks in nonmultiracial congregations or Whites in multiracial congregations. We find little evidence that multiracial congregations promote 20 progressive racial views among attendees of any race or ethnicity. Rather, our findings suggest that multiracial congregations (1) leave dominant White racial frames unchallenged, potentially influencing minority attendees to embrace such frames and/or (2) attract racial minorities who are more likely to embrace those frames in the first place.

Stereotypes of outgroups help create social identificational boundaries for ingroups. When the in... more Stereotypes of outgroups help create social identificational boundaries for ingroups. When the ingroup is dominant, members employ individualist sentiments to justify their status. In this study, we build on advances in social psychological research that account for multiple out-group stereotypes. We argue the Asian American model minority stereotype is analogous tothe ‘‘cold but competent’’ position of perceptions toward Asians in Fiske’s stereotype content model. Asian Americans are perceived to be exceptional to other minority groups, and we hypothesize that perceived competence is associated with individualist sentiments directed at Blacks and Latinos. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen, we find support for our hypotheses but find that perceived coldness has no relationship to individualist sentiments. We discuss the implications and directions for further research.

Sociological Perspectives, 2014

The literature on descriptive representation indicates that the election of black political leade... more The literature on descriptive representation indicates that the election of black political leaders may prompt white enmity. We assess this claim by examining the relationship between whites' racial attitudes and their likelihood of othering Barack Obama by labeling him as a Muslim and/or a noncitizen interloper. The findings reveal that both symbolic racial resentment and traditional racial attitudes are associated with othering Obama. In addition, the results reveal that the relationship between racial resentment and othering is substantially mediated by the use of seemingly nonracist frames based on emotional reactions and negative expectations about an Obama presidency. Conversely, much of the effect of belief in traditional antiblack stereotypes was transmitted directly to othering Obama without the use of justificatory frames. Despite claims of racial progress, our findings suggest that racial sentiments-both overt and symboliccontinue to play a major role in politics.

Research suggests that congregational characteristics are associated with the racial attitudes of... more Research suggests that congregational characteristics are associated with the racial attitudes of American churchgoers. This study examines the relationship between congregational size and beliefs about the Black/White socioeconomic gap among religious adherents. Method. Drawing upon data from the General Social Survey and the National Congregations Study, we fit binary logistic regression models to estimate the association between congregational size and Americans' explanations of Black/White economic inequality. Results. Findings reveal that attendees of larger congregations are less likely than attendees of smaller congregations to explain racial inequality as the result of the racial discrimination. The likelihood of explaining racial inequality in terms of personal motivation does not vary by congregation size. Conclusion. Despite the growing diversity in larger congregations in America, such congregations may steer attendees' views about racial inequality away from systemic/structural factors, which may attenuate the ability of such congregations to bridge racial divisions.

Book Chapters by Ryon J Cobb

Race and Religion after Divided by Faith, 2013

Book Reviews by Ryon J Cobb

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2013

Church History, 2010

... Professor Wingard definitely took some pressure off my bril-liant editor, Jennifer Hammer, wh... more ... Professor Wingard definitely took some pressure off my bril-liant editor, Jennifer Hammer, who has been more than a joy to work ... Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker&amp;amp;amp;#x27;s matching Rolls-Royces and air-conditioned doghouses, the senator wanted evangelists Benny Hinn, Kenneth Cope ...

Papers by Ryon J Cobb

Innovation in Aging, 2021

To date, little is known about the significance of the number of attributions for everyday discri... more To date, little is known about the significance of the number of attributions for everyday discrimination on all-cause mortality risk among older Blacks. Data are from a subsample of older Black respondents in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative panel study of adults above the age of 50 in the 2006/2008 HRS waves, respondents completed a battery of questions on experience with psychosocial stressors, which included the number of attributed reasons for everyday discrimination. Vital status was obtained from the National Death Index and reports from key household informants (spanning 2006–2016). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the risk of mortality. During the 10-year observation period, 450 deaths occurred. A higher number of attributed reasons for everyday discrimination was associated with a higher likelihood of death after adjusting for demographic characteristics and remained significant after further adjustments for other psych...

Emerging Adulthood

Experiences during emerging adulthood hold particular importance for future health and economic w... more Experiences during emerging adulthood hold particular importance for future health and economic well-being. This study uses Panel Study of Income Dynamics Transition into Adulthood Supplement data to explore growth trajectories of perceived discrimination across the transition into adulthood and to examine how gendered racialized group status might shape perceived discrimination among U.S. emerging adult men and women racialized as white, non-Hispanic, Black, non-Hispanic, or Hispanic ( n = 2532) using multilevel models. Results showed that as emerging adults age there is a decreasing pattern of perceived everyday discrimination, though there were individual differences in the rate and direction of change. Women racialized as Black, non-Hispanic had significantly lower perceived discrimination than all other groups except Hispanic women. Each of the six gendered racialized subgroups had similar patterns of perceived discrimination over time. More research is needed to better underst...

Perceived COVID-19 Threat Increases Psychological Distress Among Black Americans , 2020

Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 2019

Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 2018

Ethnicity and Health, 2018

Biodemography and Social Biology, 2017

Religions

Self-identified race, socially assigned skin tone, and adult physiological dysregulation: Assessing multiple dimensions of " race " in health disparities research

United by Faith? Race/Ethnicity, Congregational Diversity, and Explanations of Racial Inequality, Jan 28, 2015

This study examines the extent to which the racial composition of a congregation moderates explan... more This study examines the extent to which the racial composition of a congregation moderates explanations for Black/White inequality among White, Black, and Hispanic congregants. Using nationally representative data from General Social Surveys and National Congregations Studies, we find that religiously affiliated Blacks and Hispanics tend to hold different racial attitudes than religiously affiliated Whites, but these differences largely disappear inside multiracial congregations. Importantly, we find that attending a multiracial congregation is unassociated with Whites’ explanations for racial inequality, and Blacks who attend multiracial congregations are actually less likely to affirm structural explanations for Black/White inequality than Blacks in nonmultiracial congregations or Whites in multiracial congregations. We find little evidence that multiracial congregations promote 20 progressive racial views among attendees of any race or ethnicity. Rather, our findings suggest that multiracial congregations (1) leave dominant White racial frames unchallenged, potentially influencing minority attendees to embrace such frames and/or (2) attract racial minorities who are more likely to embrace those frames in the first place.

Sociological Perspectives, 2014

Race and Religion after Divided by Faith, 2013

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2013

Church History, 2010

Innovation in Aging, 2021

Emerging Adulthood

Social Science & Medicine

The Gerontologist

Background and Objectives This study examined the relationship between number of attributed reaso... more Background and Objectives This study examined the relationship between number of attributed reasons for everyday discrimination and all-cause mortality risk, developed latent classes of discrimination attribution, and assessed whether these latent classes were related to all-cause mortality risk among U.S. older Black women. Research Design and Method Participants were from the 2006 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 1,133; 335 deaths). Vital status was collected through the National Death Index through 2013 and key informant reports through 2019. Latent class analyses were conducted on discrimination attributions. Weighted Cox proportional hazards model was used to predict all-cause mortality. Analyses controlled for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and health. Results Reporting greater attributions for everyday discrimination was associated with higher mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.117; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.038–1.202; p <...

Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2022

Objective Past research has established a link between romantic relationships and depressive symp... more Objective Past research has established a link between romantic relationships and depressive symptoms among adults, including those in later life. There is, however, still a lack of evidence regarding whether romantic relationship status or relationship quality, is a better predictor of psychological well-being among middle-aged and older Black adult women. Methods The present study draws on data from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS), a multisite, longitudinal survey of health and psychosocial experiences of Black families, to examine how relationship status and quality relate to depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Black adult women (N=571). A series of negative binomial regression models, with 95% confidence intervals and internal moderators, were used to assess the research questions. Results Middle-aged and older Black women in married, cohabiting, and dating relationships who reported higher levels of relationship quality had a lower likelihood of depres...

Social Psychology Quarterly, 2015

Stereotypes of outgroups help create social identificational boundaries for ingroups. When the in... more Stereotypes of outgroups help create social identificational boundaries for ingroups. When the ingroup is dominant, members employ individualist sentiments to justify their status. In this study, we build on advances in social psychological research that account for multiple outgroup stereotypes. We argue the Asian American model minority stereotype is analogous to the “cold but competent” position of perceptions toward Asians in Fiske’s stereotype content model. Asian Americans are perceived to be exceptional to other minority groups, and we hypothesize that perceived competence is associated with individualist sentiments directed at Blacks and Latinos. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen, we find support for our hypotheses but find that perceived coldness has no relationship to individualist sentiments. We discuss the implications and directions for further research.

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2013

Sleep Health

Objective To analyze the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hardships and se... more Objective To analyze the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hardships and self-reported sleep troubles in a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. Design Prospective study in March and April 2020. Setting Population-based. Participants About 8130 respondents who participated in the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel in March and April of 2020. Measurements Self-reported sleep troubles were defined as a report of 3 or more days per week with trouble sleeping in March and April (separately). Respondents were asked about COVID-19 stressors such as COVID-19 Threat and COVID-19-specific hardships including pay cuts/hours reductions, job loss, and childcare difficulties. Logistic regression models were fit to test associations between COVID-19 hardships and sleep troubles adjusted for sociodemographic covariates (age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, marital status, nativity, education, income, health insurance, and past diagnosis of mental health problems). Results Reported sleep troubles increased from March (29.0%) to April (31.4%). For March, we found that COVID threat, losing a job, getting a pay cut, and difficulty with childcare were separately associated with sleep troubles. In April, COVID-19 threat and difficulty with childcare, but not losing a job or getting a pay cut were associated with sleep troubles even after additionally accounting for reported sleep troubles in March. Conclusions We found that COVID-19-specific stressors, especially a broad measure of COVID-19 Threat and stress over childcare, were associated with sleep troubles in March and April. These findings identified novel stressors related to COVID-19, which may affect the sleep of the American population.

The Gerontologist, 2022

Background and Objectives COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted older adults and Black individ... more Background and Objectives COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted older adults and Black individuals. Research has focused on physical outcomes, with less attention to the psychological effects of COVID-19. The objective of this study was to examine the interplay between perceptions of the COVID-19 outbreak as a threat to one’s day-to-day life, race, and psychological distress among middle-aged and older men and women. Research Design and Methods Analyses were conducted on a subsample of self-identified non-Latino Whites and Black individuals aged 50 and older (N = 3,834) from the American Trends Panel. Psychological distress was assessed with 5 items adapted from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. Perceived COVID-19 day-to-day threat was assessed with a single question. Negative binomial regressions tested the study aim. Results Perceptions of COVID-19 day-to-day threat were positively associated with psychological distress. B...

The current study examined how racial/ethnic self-identification combines with gender to shape se... more The current study examined how racial/ethnic self-identification combines with gender to shape self-reports of everyday discrimination among youth in the U.S. as they transition to adulthood. Data came from seven waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Transition into Adulthood Supplement (TAS). The sample included individuals with two or more observations who identified as White, Black, or Hispanic (n=2,532). Data includes average everyday discrimination scale scores over 9 time periods (i.e., ages 18 to 27) as well as pattern variables for race/ethnicity and sex groups and family SES proxied by highest level of education in household at baseline. Developmental trajectories of everyday discrimination across ages 18 to 27 were estimated using multilevel longitudinal models with the SAS Proc Mixed procedure. <br>

Urban science, 2021

Background Aim To examine racial/ethnic variations in the effect of parents' subjective neigh... more Background Aim To examine racial/ethnic variations in the effect of parents' subjective neighborhood safety on children's cognitive performance. Methods This cross-sectional study included 10,027 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The exposure variable was parents' subjective neighborhood safety. The outcomes were three domains of children's cognitive performance: general cognitive performance, executive functioning, and learning/memory. We used mixed-effects regression models for data analysis. Results Overall, parents' subjective neighborhood safety was positively associated with children's executive functioning, but not general cognitive performance or learning/memory. Higher parents' subjective neighborhood safety had a more positive influence on the executive functioning of non-Hispanic White than Asian American children. Higher parents' subjective neighborhood safety was associated with higher general cognitiv...

Social Forces, 2021

Sociologists have long identified a “perception gap” between Black and White Americans regarding ... more Sociologists have long identified a “perception gap” between Black and White Americans regarding racial injustice, often emphasizing either “epistemologies of ignorance” or “religio-cultural” mechanisms. Integrating and extending these insights, we theorize that conceptions of America’s religio-cultural heritage and identity are racially coded and grounded in White supremacy, but only for those atop the racial hierarchy. From this, we predict the perception gap is largely driven by Whites’ racialized idealization of their own religio-cultural preeminence in American civic life—what we call “White Christian nationalism.” Drawing on nationally representative data with currently relevant measures of Americans’ perceptions of racial injustice, we show the more Whites affirm seemingly race-neutral statements promoting Christianity’s preeminence in American life, the more they affirm White victimhood and deny anti-Black injustice. This association seems to drive the perception gap. Specif...

The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 2021

Background This study assessed whether reporting multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimi... more Background This study assessed whether reporting multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination was associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality risk among older Black adults. Methods This study utilized data from a subsample of older Black adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative panel study of older adults in the United States. Our measure of multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination was based on self-reports from the 2006/2008 HRS waves. Respondents’ vital status was obtained from the National Death Index and reports from key household informants (spanning 2006–2019). Cox proportional hazard models, which accounted for covariates linked to mortality, were used to estimate the risk of all-cause mortality. Results During the observation period, 563 deaths occurred. Twenty percent of Black adults attributed perceived everyday discrimination to 3 or more sources. In demographic adjusted models, attributing percei...

Children, 2021

Background: Recent studies have shown that parental educational attainment is associated with a l... more Background: Recent studies have shown that parental educational attainment is associated with a larger superior temporal cortical surface area associated with higher reading ability in children. Simultaneously, the marginalization-related diminished returns (MDRs) framework suggests that, due to structural racism and social stratification, returns of parental education are smaller for black and other racial/ethnic minority children compared to their white counterparts. Purpose: This study used a large national sample of 9–10-year-old American children to investigate associations between parental educational attainment, the right and left superior temporal cortical surface area, and reading ability across diverse racial/ethnic groups. Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis that included 10,817 9–10-year-old children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Parental educational attainment was treated as a five-level categorical variable. Children’s right and...

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2021

The present study used data from the American Trends Panel to examine the interplay between the p... more The present study used data from the American Trends Panel to examine the interplay between the perceived COVID-19 health threat, discriminatory beliefs in medical settings, and psychological distress among Black Americans. We measured psychological distress as an average of five items modified from two established scales and used self-reports of perceived COVID-19 health threat and beliefs about discrimination in medical settings as focal predictors. Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine these relationships. Holding all else constant, we found that perceived COVID-19 health threat and the belief that Black Americans face racial discrimination in medical settings were both positively and significantly associated with higher levels of psychological distress. We also found a significant perceived COVID-19 health threat by belief about discrimination in medical settings interaction in the full model. Future studies should assess how these relationships vary across age groups and over time.

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2020

This study examined how neighborhood social participation relates to depressive symptoms among mi... more This study examined how neighborhood social participation relates to depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. A subsample of African Americans (N = 1616) and Caribbean Blacks (N = 601) age 40 and older were drawn from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to examine the association between neighborhood social participation and depressive symptoms. In fully adjusted models, non-participation in available neighborhood organizations was associated with higher depressive symptoms among Caribbean Blacks (b = 1.93, p < .01), while neighborhood social participation was unrelated to depressive symptoms among African Americans. Non-participation in available neighborhood group associations is a risk factor for depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Caribbean Blacks. Future research should assess the correlates of non-participation in available neighborhood organizations, and the mechanisms underlying how non-participation in these organizations relates to the psychological well-being of Caribbean Blacks.

Innovation in Aging, 2019

Background: The current study examines the cross-sectional association between everyday discrimin... more Background: The current study examines the cross-sectional association between everyday discrimination and kidney function among older adults. Methods: We use cross-sectional data from a nationally representative sample of older adults to examine this relationship. Our measure of kidney function derives from the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) obtained by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation, while our indicator of everyday discrimination is drawn from self-reports. Results: Results from our ordinary least squared regression models reveals that, after adjusting for demographic characteristics, everyday discrimination was associated with lower mean eGFR (β=-.79; S.E.: .34). The relationship between everyday discrimination and kidney function was not explained by cardiovascular, metabolic, or economic factors. Conclusions: Findings suggest this study suggest that everyday discrimination may be a unique risk factor for poorer kidney function among ...

Race and Social Problems, 2018

The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 2018

Background This study examines the relationship between self-reported instances of major discrimi... more Background This study examines the relationship between self-reported instances of major discrimination and inflammation among older adults, and explores whether this relationship varies in accordance with race/ethnicity. We hypothesized that self-reported instances of major discrimination would be associated with higher levels of high-risk inflammation and that this relationship would be stronger for racial/ethnic minorities than whites. Methods Data from the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study, an ongoing biennial nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States, were used to collect measures of self-reported instances of major discrimination and high-risk C-reactive protein (CRP), which was assayed from blood samples. Modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors was applied to estimate the prevalence ratios of self-reported instances of major discrimination, as it relates to high-risk CRP (CRP ≥ 22 kg/m2), and test whether this relationship varie...

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2017