Advertisement
AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow purchase articles
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Right arrow Get other permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (63)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Smith, G. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Smith, G. D.
Related Collections
Right arrow Other Race/Ethnicity
Right arrow Socioeconomic Factors

American Journal of Public Health, Vol 90, Issue 11 1694-1698, Copyright © 2000 by American Public Health Association

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Learning to live with complexity: ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and health in Britain and the United States

GD Smith
Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, England. zetkin@bristol.ac.uk

The relation between ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and health is complex, has changed over time, and differs between countries. In the United States there is a long tradition of treating ethnic group membership simply as a socioeconomic measure, and differentials in health status between African Americans and groups of European origin have been considered purely socioeconomic. A contrary position sees the differences as either "cultural" or due to inherent "racial" differences. Although conventional socioeconomic indicators statistically explain much of the health difference between African Americans and Americans of European origin, they do not tell the full story. Incommensurate measures of socioeconomic position across ethnic groups clearly contribute to this difference. Additional factors, such as the extent of racism, are also likely to be important. The interaction of ethnicity, social position, and health in Britain is similarly complex. Studies that inadequately account for socioeconomic circumstances when examining ethnic-group differences in health can reify ethnicity (and its supposed correlates); however, the reductionist attribution of all ethnic differences in health to socioeconomic factors is untenable. The only productive way forward is through studies that recognize the contingency of the relations between socioeconomic position, ethnicity, and particular health outcomes.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Epidemiol. Community HealthHome page
Z Voko, P Csepe, R Nemeth, K Kosa, Z Kosa, G Szeles, and R Adany
Does socioeconomic status fully mediate the effect of ethnicity on the health of Roma people in Hungary?
J Epidemiol Community Health, June 1, 2009; 63(6): 455 - 460.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Inj. Prev.Home page
N Malhotra, A Hutchings, and P Edwards
Does the decline in road traffic injury in London vary by ethnicity?
Inj. Prev., October 1, 2008; 14(5): 333 - 337.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AJPHHome page
N. Krieger
Does Racism Harm Health? Did Child Abuse Exist Before 1962? On Explicit Questions, Critical Science, and Current Controversies: An Ecosocial Perspective
Am J Public Health, September 1, 2008; 98(Supplement_1): S20 - S25.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Epidemiol. Community HealthHome page
A. Llacer, M. V. Zunzunegui, J. del Amo, L. Mazarrasa, and F. Bolumar
The contribution of a gender perspective to the understanding of migrants' health
J Epidemiol Community Health, December 1, 2007; 61(Suppl_2): ii4 - ii10.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J Soc PsychiatryHome page
F. V.A. Van Oort, J. Van der Ende, A. A.M. Crijnen, F. C. Verhulst, J. P. Mackenbach, and I. M.A. Joung
Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health and Educational Attainment: Comparing Migrant and Native Children
International Journal of Social Psychiatry, November 1, 2007; 53(6): 514 - 525.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J EpidemiolHome page
G. B. Gori
Metaphorical measurements and theories
Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2007; 36(4): 931 - 932.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am J EpidemiolHome page
J. Young, P. Graham, and T. Blakely
Modeling the Relation between Socioeconomic Status and Mortality in a Mixture of Majority and Minority Ethnic Groups
Am. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2006; 164(3): 282 - 291.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J EpidemiolHome page
O. Razum
Commentary: Of salmon and time travellers--musing on the mystery of migrant mortality
Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2006; 35(4): 919 - 921.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AJPHHome page
N. Krieger
Stormy Weather: Race, Gene Expression, and the Science of Health Disparities
Am J Public Health, December 1, 2005; 95(12): 2155 - 2160.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Epidemiol. Community HealthHome page
V. Bos, A. E Kunst, J. Garssen, and J. P Mackenbach
Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality within ethnic groups in the Netherlands, 1995-2000
J Epidemiol Community Health, April 1, 2005; 59(4): 329 - 335.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J EpidemiolHome page
V. Bos, A. E Kunst, I. M Keij-Deerenberg, J. Garssen, and J. P Mackenbach
Ethnic inequalities in age- and cause-specific mortality in The Netherlands
Int. J. Epidemiol., October 1, 2004; 33(5): 1112 - 1119.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br. J. PsychiatryHome page
S. A. Stansfeld, M. M. Haines, J. A. Head, K. Bhui, R. Viner, S. J. C. Taylor, S. Hillier, E. Klineberg, and R. Booy
Ethnicity, social deprivation and psychological distress in adolescents: School-based epidemiological study in east London
The British Journal of Psychiatry, September 1, 2004; 185(3): 233 - 238.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Epidemiol. Community HealthHome page
M. Leinsalu, D. Vagero, and A. E Kunst
Increasing ethnic differences in mortality in Estonia after the collapse of the Soviet Union
J Epidemiol Community Health, July 1, 2004; 58(7): 583 - 589.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Epidemiol RevHome page
A. F. Brown, S. L. Ettner, J. Piette, M. Weinberger, E. Gregg, M. F. Shapiro, A. J. Karter, M. Safford, B. Waitzfelder, P. A. Prata, et al.
Socioeconomic Position and Health among Persons with Diabetes Mellitus: A Conceptual Framework and Review of the Literature
Epidemiol. Rev., July 1, 2004; 26(1): 63 - 77.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
C. Walsh and L. F. Ross
Whether and Why Pediatric Researchers Report Race and Ethnicity
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, July 1, 2003; 157(7): 671 - 675.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AJPHHome page
N. Krieger
Does Racism Harm Health? Did Child Abuse Exist Before 1962? On Explicit Questions, Critical Science, and Current Controversies: An Ecosocial Perspective
Am J Public Health, February 1, 2003; 93(2): 194 - 199.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JCOHome page
W. B. Sateren, E. L. Trimble, J. Abrams, O. Brawley, N. Breen, L. Ford, M. McCabe, R. Kaplan, M. Smith, R. Ungerleider, et al.
How Sociodemographics, Presence of Oncology Specialists, and Hospital Cancer Programs Affect Accrual to Cancer Treatment Trials
J. Clin. Oncol., April 15, 2002; 20(8): 2109 - 2117.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Epidemiol. Community HealthHome page
N Krieger
A glossary for social epidemiology
J Epidemiol Community Health, October 1, 2001; 55(10): 693 - 700.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2000 by the American Public Health Association