Skip to main content
Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine logoLink to Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
. 2005 Sep;82(Suppl 3):iii26–iii34. doi: 10.1093/jurban/jti061

Disentangling race and socioeconomic status: A key to understanding health inequalities

Thomas A LaVeist 1,
PMCID: PMC3455905  PMID: 15933328

Abstract

This article addresses one of the most vexing problems facing health disparities researchers, the confounding of race and socioeconomic status. This article does the following: (1) it outlines the magnitude of confounding between race and socioeconomic status; (2) it demonstrates problems caused by this confounding; (3) it examines the degree to which race disparities are a function of socioecomic status; and (4) it discusses considerations for advancing research on health disparities after accounting for the confounding of race and socioeconomic status.

Keywords: Ethnicity, Health disparities, Race, Socioeconomic status

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (89.0 KB).

References

  • 1.Veist TA. On the study of race, racism, and health: a shift from description to explanation. Int J Health Serv. 2000;30:217–219. doi: 10.2190/LKDF-UJQ5-W1KU-GLR1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Veist TA. Segregation, poverty, and empowerment: health consequences for African Americans. Milbank Q. 1993;71:41–64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Veist TA. Racial segregation and longevity among African Americans: an individuallevel analysis. Health Serv Res. 2003;38:1719–1733. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2003.00199.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Veist TA, Wallace JM., Jr Health risk and inequitable distribution of liquor stores in African American neighborhood. Soc Sci Med. 2000;51:613–617. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00004-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Williams DR, Collins C. Racial residential segregation: a fundamental cause of racial disparities in health. Public Health Rep. 2001;116:404–416. doi: 10.1093/phr/116.5.404. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Nakao K, Treas J. Updating occupational prestige and socioeconomic sources: how the new measures measure up. In: Marsden P, editor. Sociological Methodology, 1994. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association; 1994. pp. 1–72. [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Duncan OD. A Socioeconomic Index for all occupations. In: Reiss A Jr, editor. Occupations and Social Status. New York: Free Press; 1961. pp. 109–138. [Google Scholar]
  • 8.Featherman DL, Hauser RM. Prestige or socioeconomic scales in the study of occupational achievement. Soc Meth and Res. 1976;4:403–422. [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Nam CB, Powers MG. The Socioeconomic Approach to Status Measurement. Houston, TX: Cap and Gown Press; 1983. [Google Scholar]
  • 10.Oliver ML, Shapiro TM. Black Wealth, White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality. New York, NY: Routledge; 1997. [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine are provided here courtesy of New York Academy of Medicine

RESOURCES