Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics in a multiethnic sample of women by race
| Variables | African Americans |
European Americans |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage (n) | ||
| Marital status | ||
| Divorce | 16.13% (n= 5) | 6.45% (n= 2) |
| Never married | 61.29% (n=19) | 67.74% (n=21) |
| Married | 22.58% (n= 7) | 25.81% (n= 8) |
| Reported annual income | ||
| <$20,000 | 27.59% (n= 8) | 16.67 (n= 5) |
| ≥$20,000 | 72.41% (n=21) | 83.33 (n=25) |
| Education | ||
| Partial High School | 3.23% (n= 1) | NA |
| High School Graduate | 12.90% (n= 4) | 6.45% (n= 2) |
| Partial College | 38.71% (n=12) | 32.26% (n=10) |
| Standard College Graduate | 32.26% (n=10) | 25.81% (n= 8) |
| Graduate Professional Training | 12.90% (n= 4) | 35.48% (n=11) |
| Mean ± SD | ||
| Age (years) | 29.54±7.84 | 28.83±7.28 |
| Body composition | ||
| Body Mass Index (BMI) (Kg/m2) | 32.74± 7.52* | 27.29± 6.92 |
| Waist Circumference (WC) (cm) | 96.75±16.32* | 86.41±17.71 |
| Body fat percentage (BF%) (%) | 38.50± 5.85* | 33.90± 6.16 |
| Recent Experiences of Discrimination (total score) | 11.10±5.68 | 8.35±6.05 |
| Recent Experiences of Discrimination (by sections) | ||
| In the past 12 months… | ||
| Section 1. Treated with less respect (at restaurants, criticized accent or speech, people think not smart, people afraid of you, people think dishonest, people think better than you, threatened/harassed.) | 6.93±4.25 | 5.93±4.59 |
| Section 2. Treated unfairly because… (ancestry or national origin, gender or sex, or skin color, age, way you speak English, and other reason) | 2.24±1.82* | 0.93±1.15 |
| Section 3. Stress from unfair treatment (not at all stressful, a little stressful, somewhat stressful, or extremely stressful.) | 1.32±0.86 | 1.30±0.92 |
| Lifetime Experiences of Discrimination (total score) | 9.61±3.96* | 6.65±3.48 |
| Lifetime Experiences of Discrimination (by sections) | ||
| Section 1. Unfair treatment by place (school, work, medical care, police and the courts, and other situations.) | 4.03±2.81 | 3.06±2.46 |
| Section 2. Reasons of being treated unfairly (ancestry, gender or sex, race or skin color, age, the way speak English, or some other reason.) | 3.18±1.86* | 1.53±1.30 |
| Section 3. Stress from unfair treatment (not at all stressful, a little stressful, somewhat stressful, or extremely stressful.) | 1.73±0.72 | 1.43±0.94 |
| Total discrimination scores (recent and lifetime) | 21.00±8.63* | 14.73±9.06 |
NA, not available. Significant results are based on absolute values. T and chi-squared tests were performed to assess mean differences among African Americans (n=31) and European Americans (n=31) females. All differences were significant at
p <0.05.
Recent experiences of discrimination included a total of 15 questions divided into three sections. The first section included eight questions with score 0-3 (with a maximum 24), the second section included six questions scores 0-1 (with a maximum of 6), and the third section included one question with scores 0-3 (with a maximum of 3).
Lifetime experiences of discrimination included a total of 12 questions divided into three sections. The first section included five questions with score 0-3 (with a maximum of 15), the second section included six questions scores 0-1 (with a maximum of 6), and the third section contains one question with score 0-3 (with a maximum of 3).