RACE AS LIVED EXPERIENCE: The Impact of Multi-Dimensional Measures of Race/Ethnicity on the Self-Reported Health Status of Latinos

John A. Garcia, Gabriel R. Sanchez, Shannon Sanchez-Youngman, Edward D. Vargas, Vickie D. Ybarra

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

A growing body of social science research has sought to conceptualize race as a multi-dimensional concept in which context, societal relations, and institutional dynamics are key components. Utilizing a specially-designed survey, we develop and use multiple measures of race (skin color, ascribed race, and discrimination experiences) to capture race as a "lived experience" and assess these measures' impact on Latinos' self-rated health status. We model these measures of race as lived experience to test the explanatory power of race, both independently and as an integrated scale, with categorical regression, scaling, and dimensional analyses. Our analyses show that our multiple measures of race have significant and negative effects on Latinos' self-reported health. Skin color is a dominant factor that impacts self-reported health both directly and indirectly. We then advocate for the utilization of multiple measures of race, adding to those used in our analysis, and their application to research regarding inequities in other health and social outcomes. Our analysis provides important contributions to research across a wide range of health, illness, social, and political disparities for communities of color.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)349-373
Number of pages25
JournalDu Bois Review
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 20 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Ascribed race
  • Discrimination
  • Ethnicity
  • Lived Experience
  • Race
  • Self-Reported Health
  • Skin Color

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Sociology and Political Science

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