Role Of Race Research Articles

Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Sex Hormones among Male and Female American Adolescents.

Although early sexual initiation and childbearing are major barriers against the upward social mobility of American adolescents, particularly those who belong to a low socioeconomic status (SES) and racial minorities such as Blacks, less is known on how SES and race correlate with adolescents' sex hormones. An understanding of the associations between race and SES with adolescents' sex hormones may help better understand why racial, and SES gaps exist in sexual risk behaviors and teen pregnancies. To extend the existing knowledge on social patterning of adolescents' sex hormones, in the current study, we studied social patterning of sex hormones in a national sample of male and female American adolescents, with a particular interest in the role of race and SES. For this cross-sectional study, data came from the baseline data (wave 1) of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a national longitudinal prospective study of American adolescents. This analysis included 717 male and 576 female non-Hispanic White or Black adolescents ages 9-10. The dependent variables were sex hormones (testosterone for males and estradiol for females). Independent variables were age, race, family marital status, parental education, and financial difficulties. For data analysis, linear regression models were used. Age, race, parental education, and financial difficulties were associated with estradiol in female and testosterone levels in male adolescents. Associations were not identical for males and females, but the patterns were mainly similar. Low SES explained why race is associated with higher estradiol in female adolescents. Marital status of the family did not correlate with any of the sex hormones. Being Black and low SES were associated with a higher level of sex hormones in male and female adolescents. This information may help us understand the social patterning of sexual initiation and childbearing. Addressing racial and economic inequalities in early puberty, sexual initiation, and childbearing is an essential part of closing the racial and economic gaps in the US.

Examining the Sentence of Life without Parole in Kentucky Homicide Cases

This study examines the issue of prosecutorial discretion and the decision to offer a plea of life without parole (LWOP) in Kentucky death-eligible homicide cases (2000–2016). Using focal concerns theory as a framework and propensity score matching (PSM) and logistic regression as the methods of analysis, it attempts to explain the factors influencing prosecutorial discretion in the decision to grant a plea for LWOP with an emphasis on the role of race and gender or the victim and offender in this process. Among similarly situated cases, black offenders convicted of killing a white victim and those cases featuring a female victim were significantly more likely to receive a sentence of life without parole. Within the context of LWOP sentencing, the blameworthiness of a case was more significant than factors measuring the protection of the community.

Mental Health Inequities and Disparities among African American Adults in the United States: The Role of Race

Although the rate of mental illness among African Americans and Whites in the United Sates are similar, African Americans tend to have the worst mental health outcomes in the country. This is due to several inequities, particularly those associated with race such as discrimination, provider bias, stereotyping, weak socio-economic status, limited access to health insurance, poor quality mental health care, treatment gaps, culture, and stigma related to mental health care. Recognizing that the differences in mental health outcomes among minority populations in the United States is also driven by race and not just by brain chemistry, or environmental exposures, and developing strategies that target the issue of race, will not only lead to increased access to mental health services among African Americans, but will generally improve upon their mental health status. This article discusses mental health disparities among African Americans, the inequities that cause them, and strategies for addressing the disparities with a focus on race.

Intersectionality and Voting Rights

One hundred years after ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, the ability of women to effectively exercise the right to vote is far from guaranteed. Although 1920 may mark the historical moment when women’s suffrage was added to the Constitution, the past century has been rife with obstacles preventing many women, particularly women of color, from exercising their right to vote. Scholars have noted that for these women, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was pivotal in more fully securing the right to vote (Hewitt 2010; Junn and Brown 2008; Montoya 2018; Smooth 2006). With a resurgence in voter-suppression efforts and a US Supreme Court ruling that weakened the VRA, voting rights again are imperiled. Although the role of race and class justifiably have been placed at the center of analysis, little attention has been given to the potential gendered considerations. This article argues that gender is still a salient part of the story, and intersectional analysis is necessary for a more thorough understanding of the impact that restrictive laws might have in order to counter them.

Introduction

Introduction

‘While I knew I was raced, I didn’t think much of it’: the need for racial literacy in decolonising classrooms

ABSTRACT International recognition of racial literacy is growing as a field of postcolonial scholarship but has yet to gain momentum in Australia. In this article, we argue for the need to develop a racial literacy approach for Australian contexts and draw on a qualitative study which engaged with university students who participated in the subject Racial Literacy: Indigeneity and Whiteness delivered at an Australian university. The experiences of these students, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, reveal the classroom to be reflective of broader tensions that manifest in relation to race as a topic and can be a critical space for racial literacy and decolonising education. We argue here that the application of racial literacy is required to address the significant anomaly that exists between critical race scholarship, common understandings of race, colonisation and the practices and impacts of racism. We contend that to develop a racial literacy approach, which does not perpetuate the limits of critical race studies, the role of race in Indigenous dispossession and the ongoing legacies of colonisation must consistently be foundational.

Negotiating the workplace: second-generation Asian American professionals’ early experiences

ABSTRACT Research on Asian American educational attainment suggests that a combination of immigrant hyper-selectivity and ethnic capital enables second-generation Asian Americans to succeed according to a narrowly-defined success frame. However, recent quantitative work suggests that ethnoracialized advantages within the educational system do not translate into advantages in the workplace. This study therefore examines second-generation Asian Americans’ experiences as they seek work in the labour market. I draw from 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews with 1.5- and second-generation Asian Americans in the New York City area, all of whom had entered the full-time workforce within the previous ten years. I find that these recent labour market entrants faced three major constraints and enacted several strategies in response. Family and community networks no longer provided the same ethnoracialized resources and network ties that might enable educational success; in response, workers mobilised institutional resources and peer networks. Once in the workplace, respondents experienced racialized microaggressions; in response, they minimised the role of race. Finally, they encountered negative stereotyping; in response, they worked to distance themselves from such stereotypes. Overall, these findings shed light on how ethnoracialized processes impact the presumed link between educational and occupational success.

Role of Race in Short-Term Outcomes for 1700 Consecutive Patients Undergoing Brain Tumor Resection.

Access to medical care seems to be impacted by race. However, the effect of race on outcomes, once care has been established, is poorly understood. This study seeks to assess the influence of race on patient outcomes in a brain tumor surgery population. This study offers insights to if or how quality is impacted based on patient race, after care has been established. Knowledge of disparities may serve as a valuable first step toward risk factor mitigation. Patients differing in race, but matched on other outcomes affecting characteristics, were assessed for differences in outcomes subsequent to brain tumor resection. Coarsened exact matching was used to match 1700 supratentorial brain tumor procedures performed over a 6-year period at a single, multihospital academic medical center. Patient outcomes assessed included unplanned readmission, mortality, emergency department (ED) visits, and unanticipated return to surgery. There was no significant difference in readmissions, mortality, ED visits, return to surgery after index admission, or return to surgery within 30 days between the two races. This study suggests that race does not independently influence postsurgical outcomes but may instead serve as a proxy for other closely related demographics.

Metro and Non-Metro Variation in Postsecondary Enrollment: The Role of Race, Ethnicity, and Residential Location in Texas

This study used a spatial approach to explore metropolitan and nonmetropolitan variation of college enrollment at the interplay of place and race within the state of Texas. Analyzing Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS-USA) data and using population proportions as well as regression methods, we pay particular attention to the racial/ethnic diversity in non-metro (i.e., rural) areas and its relationship with college enrollment. We find geography is a mediating factor in the college enrollment racial/ethnic gaps for rural Texans, but there are considerable regional disparities. These disparities show diverse trends among rural regions where large proportions of Latinxs reside. This indicates a need for more research to explore geographic post-secondary opportunity and college access practices and policy with the racial/ethnic diversity of place in mind, especially regarding rural communities of Color. The data and code for the analysis can be found here on a GitHub repository.

Managing to Teach Ambitiously in the First Year?

Beginning teachers (BTs) are increasingly expected to teach ambitiously from day one. However, they continue to face classroom management challenges. This study presents case studies of two elementary BTs that explore (1) the relationship between BTs’ management and instructional practices in mathematics and English language arts and (2) its consequences for the ambitiousness of their teaching. Drawing on cultural historical activity theory, the cases highlight (1) the limits of a hierarchical model that positions classroom management as foundational to BTs’ subject-matter instruction, (2) the potential of a polymotivated model of ambitious instruction for supporting BTs’ development, and (3) the role of race in mediating this development. Implications for research and for efforts to support ambitious teaching among elementary BTs are explored.

Race and the Rise of a Mass Visual Culture: The Case of David Hunter Strother’s Virginia Illustrated

Abstract The publication of David Hunter Strother’s Virginia Illustrated under the pseudonym Porte Crayon in Harper’s Monthly (1854–56) provides a compelling case study through which to consider the role of race in the development of a US mass visual culture. The media combinations found within and the reception history of Virginia Illustrated demonstrate the importance of racialized viewing to the early success of Harper’s Monthly at a critical moment in media history. To be sure, Virginia Illustrated circulated racist stereotypes to be mass consumed, but the image/text operations of Strother’s literary sketches and illustrations also extended the privileges and pleasures inherent in the performance of the white male gaze to the expanding readership of Harper’s Monthly despite the differences in region, gender, and class of that audience. The case study of Virginia Illustrated challenges us to revisit the oddly marginalized relationship of nineteenth-century illustration to literary, art, and media history and invites us to situate nineteenth-century US literature into the wider media landscape of which it was undoubtedly a part.

Abstract D057: Impact of antibiotic exposure on the overall survival in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors: Does race matter?

Abstract Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are commonly used in the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Several small studies have identified an association between antibiotic exposure and ICI failure. Furthermore, ICI failure has also been associated with decreased tumor mutation burden (TMB), with racial disparities being noted. However, to date there are no studies that have investigated the relationship of potential racial disparities and antibiotic exposure on clinical outcomes in patients receiving ICI therapy. The purpose of our systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the impact of antibiotic (ATB) exposure on overall survival in patients receiving ICI therapy. An additional goal is to determine if racial disparities are present. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis utilizing PRISMA guidance of all randomized controlled trials, or observational studies that evaluated the impact of antibiotic exposure on ICI efficacy. We excluded studies that did not report overall survival. The primary outcome of this study is overall survival (OS) among ICI patients with antibiotic exposure, compared to patients who received ICI therapy alone. Secondary outcomes include response rate (RR), and progression-free survival (PFS). An a priori subgroup analysis for the primary outcome will be conducted based on race, cancer type, and specific ICI utilized. Results: A total of twelve studies (n=1,868 patients) were included in the final analysis. Among all patients, the most common reasons for ICI use were NSCLC (n=1,180), melanoma (n=316) and RCC (n=238). Among all patients, the most commonly used ICI was anti PD-1/PD-L1 (n=708), nivolumab (n=440) and pembrolizumab (n=63). Of the total patients analyzed, 446 patients (23.9%) received ATB within 6 months surrounding ICI therapy, and 1,422 patients (76.1%) did not receive any ATB surrounding ICI therapy. No studies reported ethnicity in their published results. Patients treated with ATB had lower overall survival compared to those without antibiotic exposure (ATB- 7.5 months; No ATB- 18.9 months). RR (ATB- 14.7%; No ATB 50.9%) and PFS (ATB- 2.4 months; No ATB- 5.1 months) were also shorter. Conclusions: ATB use was associated with less overall survival compared to non-ATB use in patients receiving ICI therapy. Our findings suggest that measures to promote reduced ATB use in patients receiving ICI therapy may help to improve clinical outcomes. No studies in the final analysis reported race and ethnicity. While it is hypothesized that race and ethnicity may play a role in ICI response, further research to evaluate the role of race and ethnicity is needed, which may help clinicians to better identify patients most likely to benefit from ICI therapy. Citation Format: Armani B Hayes, John Allen. Impact of antibiotic exposure on the overall survival in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors: Does race matter? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr D057.

Thyroid dysfunction in lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI): Role of race, gender, and concurrent chemotherapy in a multiethnic urban cohort.

e21622 Background: Immune-related adverse events (irAE) associated with ICI have been reported, but remain poorly understood. We sought to characterize patterns of thyroid dysfunction—one of the most common irAE—in a large cohort of ethnically-diverse lung cancer patients treated with ICI. Methods: A retrospective chart review of lung cancer patients receiving an anti-PD1 or PD-L1 agent from January 2016 to July 2019 was performed. Subjects included had normal baseline thyroid function. Thyrotoxicosis and hypothyroidism was defined as thyroid-stimulating hormone level less than 0.4 and greater than 4.6, respectively. Time to event analysis with inverted Kaplan Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to compare thyroid dysfunction among race, gender, and treatment subgroups. Results: We identified 256 subjects: 206 had normal baseline thyroid function and 76 went on to develop thyroid dysfunction. Rates of thyroid dysfunction by one year occurred at similar frequencies among all races. Thyrotoxicosis occurred at significantly higher rates in Black (25, 31.7%) than in White (8, 12.9%) and Hispanic (7, 16.7%) subjects. In contrast, hypothyroidism occurred more often in White (13, 21.0%) and Hispanic (18, 42.9%) than in Black (12, 15.2%) subjects. Gender and concurrent chemotherapy showed no significant association with thyroid dysfunction. Of subjects with thyrotoxicosis (N = 42), hypothyroidism followed in 33.3% (N = 14) with 1 subject receiving methimazole and 13 levothyroxine. In those subjects, median time to thyrotoxicosis and hypothyroidism was 4.0 and 7.2 weeks, respectively. Conclusions: Despite the higher prevalence of non-ICI-related thyroid disease among females and the anticipated immunosuppressive effect of chemotherapy, neither gender nor chemotherapy correlated with thyroid dysfunction; however, race did. Black subjects exhibited significantly higher rates of thyrotoxicosis. Our findings are consistent with prior research showing that thyrotoxicosis, including Graves’ disease, occurs more often in Blacks. While the pathogenesis of ICI-related thyroid dysfunction is unclear, the early onset of thyrotoxicosis demonstrated by our study calls for careful monitoring, especially for particular races. [Table: see text]

Brief Report: Classifying Rates of Students with Autism and Intellectual Disability in North Carolina: Roles of Race and Economic Disadvantage.

We examined special education classifications among students aged 3-21 in North Carolina public schools, highlighting autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). Results revealed variability by county in ASD and ID prevalence, and in county-level ratios of ID vs. ASD classifications. Sociodemographic characteristics predicted proportion of ASD or ID within a county; correlations showed an association between race and ID, but not ASD. County's median household income predicted proportion of students classified as ASD and ID (opposite directions), controlling for number of students and gender. Variability was unlikely related to biological incidence, and more likely related to district/school practices, or differences in resources. Disparities warrant further examination to ensure that North Carolina's youth with disabilities access necessary, appropriate resources.

Lady Justice Without Her Blindfold: An Analysis on How Race Influences Sentencing

Over the years, racial prejudice in sentencing has been one of the prevalent problems affecting the criminal justice system. In other words, the intersection of racial dynamics with sentencing processes in the courtroom has a longstanding duration. Although, courtrooms in many jurisdictions were comprised of all whites decision makers in earlier times, there is more diversity of leadership in the court system today. However, race still plays a critical role in many criminal justice outcomes. A particularly important aspect of the role of race in the justice system relates to sentencing, and recent generation of evidence suggests that race is still undeniably present in the sentencing process. The objective of this article is to project the influence of race on the criminal justice system, focusing on how race plays a major role in sentencing decisions. This article further focuses on some of the prevalent racial prejudice issues relating to sentencing outcomes. This article is divided into four parts. The first part of this article deals with the role race plays in sentencing outcomes. The second part of this article deals with how racial prejudice prevails major aspects of sentencing, focusing on sentencing outcomes for a few crimes such as, rape, drug crimes, and murder. The third part of this article addresses how race determines who gets a death sentence. The fourth part of this article focuses on the approach to eradicating racial prejudice in sentencing decisions. Even though it may seem farfetched to completely eradicate racial prejudice in sentencing, it is not totally unachievable. Finally, possible solutions will be proffered to the racial prejudice issues surrounding sentencing outcomes.

Losing white privilege? Exploring whiteness as a resource for ‘white’ Dutch girls in a racially diverse school

ABSTRACT Much research on the role of race in education focuses on young people with a migrant background. The racial experiences of ‘white’ children are under-researched, especially in the Netherlands. This article examines whether ‘white’ Dutch working-class students experience white privilege and if so, how they make use of it as a ‘resource’ in their school settings. Most studies on ‘white’ working-class students do not take white privilege into account, and most work on white privilege has inadequately disentangled the impacts of race and social class. The ethnographic findings from a Dutch senior vocational school where the vast majority of students are of colour suggest that the whiteness of working-class ‘white’ Dutch students may or may not act as a form of white privilege, depending on their interaction with their middle-class teachers. Due to its intersection with social class, white privilege in this setting appeared to be conditional upon meeting teachers’ expectations.

“It’s just easier”: Reflections on the intersections of kinship, race, and ethnicity in Asian American adoptive families

ABSTRACT This paper reports Phase II findings of an exploratory study of 26 families who have adopted children with Asian heritage, where at least one parent is Asian American. In-depth interviews provided a rich exploration of parents’ motivations to kin through adoption, the ways in which race and ethnicity factored into their child-selection preferences (if at all), their assumptions about their ability to create kinship bonds with an adopted child, and strategies for racial and ethnic socialization. The themes of approximating or performing family and inconspicuousness were repeated by parents when they considered how race and ethnicity factored into child-selection preferences and their assumptions about creating kinship bonds. The adoptive parents in this study were measured and nuanced in weighing the role of race and ethnicity for Asian adoptees, but the implicit strategies of modeling, mentoring, and intergenerational transmission were described less as strategies, and more about belonging and being a part of an extended tribe that was more authentic because of a shared identity as Asian Americans. Ultimately the question of whose interests are being served when race and ethnicity are considered has been dynamic and shifting throughout adoption history. This study sought to contribute in a small part to moving the conversation beyond the polarized Black-White racialized paradigm and provides direction for further research.

Does race impact functional outcomes in patients undergoing robotic partial nephrectomy?

BackgroundThe role of race on functional outcomes after robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) is still a matter of debate. We aimed to evaluate the clinical and pathologic characteristics of African American (AA) and Caucasian patients who underwent RPN and analyzed the association between race and functional outcomes.MethodsData was obtained from a multi-institutional database of patients who underwent RPN in 6 institutions in the USA. We identified 999 patients with complete clinical data. Sixty-three patients (6.3%) were AA, and each patient was matched (1:3) to Caucasian patients by age at surgery, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and renal score. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate predictors of acute kidney injury (AKI). Kaplan-Meier method and multivariable semiparametric Cox regression analyses were performed to assess prevalence and predictors of significant eGFR reduction during follow-up.ResultsOverall, 252 patients were included. AA were more likely to have hypertension (58.7% vs. 35.4%, P=0.001), even after 1:3 match. Overall 42 patients (16.7%) developed AKI after surgery and 35 patients (13.9%) developed significant eGFR reduction between 3 and 15 months after RAPN. On multivariate analysis, AA race did not emerge as a significant factor for predicting AKI (OR 1.10, P=0.8). On Cox multivariable analysis, only AKI was found to be associated with significant eGFR reduction between 3 and 15 months after RAPN (HR 2.49, P=0.019).ConclusionsAlthough African American patients were more likely to have hypertension, renal function outcomes of robotic partial nephrectomies were not significantly different when stratified by race. However, future studies with larger cohorts are necessary to validate these findings.

Racial disparities in inferior vena cava filter use in metabolic and bariatric surgery patients: Nationwide insights from the MBSAQIP database

BackgroundProphylactic inferior vena cava (IVC) filter use in bariatric surgery patients is a physician- and patient-dependent practice pattern with unclear safety and efficacy. Factors that mediate physicians’ decisions for IVC filter placement preoperatively remain unclear. The role of race in decision-making also remains unclear. MethodsFrom the 2015–2016 MBASQIP database, patient characteristics leading to IVC filter use and outcomes after IVC filter placement were compared between Black and White primary bariatric surgery patients. ResultsProphylactic IVC filter was used in 0.66% of Black and White patients. IVC filter use was three-fold higher in Black patients, despite this cohort having a lower venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk profile than White counterparts. Black race was an independent predictor for IVC filter placement on multivariate analysis. After receiving an IVC filter, Black patients had higher rates of 30-day adverse outcomes. ConclusionsIn this study, Black race was independently associated with the likelihood of receiving a prophylactic IVC filter, despite lower rates of VTE risk factors and lack of recommendations for its use. Further research is needed to explore why this disparity in clinical practice exists.

The Roles of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Mental Health in Predicting Truancy Recidivism

This study aims to (a) describe demographic and mental health (MH) differences between truant juvenile justice–involved youth (JJY) and nontruant JJY; (b) classify MH needs of truant JJY; and (c) investigate if the interactions between race, ethnicity, gender, and MH needs predict truancy recidivism. Participants were 10,603 truant JJY (55.4% male; non-Hispanic White, 46.8%; 16.2% with a history of pretrial detention). Of these participants, 2,167 with MH data were included in latent profile analyses and recidivism analyses. Hispanic youth and female youth were more likely to be truant. Non-Hispanic White JJY had a higher likelihood of a repeated truancy charge. Four MH classes emerged: elevated Alcohol/Drug Use (7.9%), elevated Angry–Irritable and Depressed–Anxious symptoms (19.5%), elevated Suicide Ideation (7.1%), and low MH needs (65.5%). Race, ethnicity, gender, and MH needs are informative as potential factors contributing to truancy. These factors should be examined in future studies that compare truant with nontruant non-JJY.