Primary Submission Category: Race/Ethnicity
Weathering in the 21st Century: Where do Multiracial Individuals Stand?
Authors: Arinala Randrianasolo
Presenting Author: Arinala Randrianasolo*
Following guidance of the Office of Management and Budget, the 2000 Census introduced the ability for individuals to select more than one race. Since allowing such a feature, the multiracial population has grown rapidly, from 2.9% of the population in 2010 to 10.2% of the population in 2020, per the Census. With such quick growth, research is needed to understand the health outcomes of this group within the racial contexts of the United States. Specifically, research should be conducted to determine if any healthy inequities exist between the multiracial population and other races.
Using the Weathering Hypothesis as a theoretical background, I ask whether the multiracial population experiences the same biological deterioration as the black population. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (ADD Health) dataset, I will construct a multiracial variable that sums up whether respondents selected more than one race. With this construction, there are 322 individuals who have selected more than one race. Unfortunately, data limitations do not allow for differentiating between different racial combinations without introducing statistical power concerns. As such, this group is treated similarly as the other racial groups. Additionally, within the dataset are also 5,713 individuals who selected only one race (black, Asian, white, or other) and 19 individuals who stated they did not know their race or refused to answer the question. I will have two main health outcomes: physical limitations and self-rated health. Although not always the greatest measure of health, self-rated health will be useful in elucidating whether respondents recognize their physical deterioration, if any. Where self-rated health is the main outcome, I will use an ordinal logistic regression and where physical limitations is the main outcome, I will use a logistic regression. Each racial group will be subject to the same models with the same covariates.