Race, age and serious psychological distress in the USA

Abstract

Racial minority status in the USA has been found as a risk factor of psychological distress. Serious psychological distress can lead to high personal and healthcare costs across different disease categories, life experiences and age cohort. This study aims to examine the interaction effect of race and age on psychological distress among non-Hispanic White, Asian, Black and Latino adults. This study uses data from a random sample of 43,672 adults aged 18 and older living in California, collected by the California Health Interview Survey in 2009. Younger Black respondents had the greatest prevalence of psychological distress, while the elderly White respondents had the lowest. Middle-aged Asian respondents reported a significantly smaller prevalence of psychological distress than middle-aged White respondents. Elderly Asian and Latino respondents were more likely to experience serious psychological distress than elderly White and Black respondents. There was no statistical difference in the prevalence of se...