Urban Black Men Research Articles

Racial Differences in Underemployment in American Cities

The geographic between where blacks reside and where jobs are located is frequently cited as contributing to the growing black underclass in the nation's urban centers. The spatial mismatch hypothesis provides a framework for identifying several facets of change in the comparative employment circumstances of central city black and white men. Specifically, this paper examines black-white differences in underemployment during the 1970-82 period, employing the Labor Utilization Framework of Clogg and Sullivan. Using data from the Current Population Survey, the results provide little basis for optimism about the absolute or relative employment circumstances of urban black men. The analysis reveals that (a) underemployment increased over time for both whites and blacks but especially among young adults and those with low education; (b) racial polarization accelerated during 1970-82 in U.S. central cities, as the absolute gap in underemployment between blacks and whites increased substantially; (c) t...

Epidemiologic studies of vitamins and cancer of the lung, esophagus, and cervix.

Epidemiologic studies of the relationships between vitamins and 3 types of cancer are reviewed. First, the widely reported association between vitamin A and beta-carotene and risk of lung cancer is considered. In a large population-based case-control study of lung cancer among white males in New Jersey, increased intake of vegetables, dark green vegetables, dark yellow-orange vegetables, and carotenoids were each associated with reduced risk, but intake of retinol or total vitamin A was not related. The protective effect of vegetables was limited to current and recent cigarette smokers, which suggests that vegetable intake prevents a late-stage event in carcinogenesis. Consumption of dark yellow-orange vegetables was consistently more predictive of reduced risk than either the total carotenoid index or consumption of any other food group, possible because of the high content of beta-carotene in this food group. The results and limitations of other epidemiologic studies of diet and lung cancer are reviewed. Second, the evolving relationship between multiple micronutrient deficiencies and esophageal cancer is discussed. In a death certificate-based case-control study of esophageal cancer in black males in Washington, D.C., several indicators of general nutritional status, including consumption of fresh or frozen meat and fish, dairy products and eggs, and fruit and vegetables, and the number of meals eaten per day, were inversely and independently correlated with the risk of esophageal cancer. Estimates of intake of micronutrients, such as carotenoids, vitamin C, thiamin, and riboflavin, were less strongly associated with reduced risk than were the broad food groups that provide most of each micronutrient. Thus no single micronutrient deficiency was identified. Other studies suggest that generally poor nutrition may partially explain the susceptibility of urban black men to esophageal cancer. Finally, the postulated association between low folacin levels and risk of cervical cancer is examined. Among women who use oral contraceptives, serum and red blood cell folacin levels were reported to be lower among those with cervical dysplasia. In a clinical trial involving oral contraceptive users, cervical dysplasia gradually decreased in the group supplemented with oral folate but remained unchanged in the group given the placebo. Other epidemiologic studies of diet and cervical cancer are discussed.

Association of alcoholism with antisocial personality in urban men.

The association of alcoholism with antisocial personality is important from a research and a therapeutic standpoint. In a sample of urban black men, it was found that those with antisocial personality had a higher rate of alcoholism than those without. In addition, a family history of problem drinking, low educational level, and excessive irritability were also closely associated with alcoholism. The clinical, genetic, and neurophysiological implications of these findings are discussed.

Esophageal Cancer Among Black Men in Washington, D.C. II. Role of nutrition

A case-control study of esophageal cancer was conducted among the black male residents of Washington, D.C., to find reasons for the exceptionally high risk in this population. The next of kin of 120 esophageal cancer cases who died during 1975-77 and of 250 D.C. black males who died of other causes were interviewed. Five indicators of general nutritional status--fresh or frozen meat and fish consumption, dairy product and egg consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, relative weight (wt/ht2), and number of meals eaten per day--were each significantly and inversely correlated with the relative risk of esophageal cancer. Associations with other food groups were not apparent. The least nourished third of the study population, defined by any of these five measures, was at twice the risk of the most nourished third. None of these associations was markedly reduced by controlling for ethanol consumption, the other major risk factor in this population; smoking; socioeconomic status; or the other nutrition measures. When the three food group consumption measures were combined into a single overall index of general nutritional status, the relative risk of esophageal cancer between extremes was 14. Estimates of the intake of vitamin A, carotene, vitamin C, thiamin, and riboflavin were inversely associated with relative risk; but each micronutrient index was less strongly associated with risk than were the broad food groups that provide most of the micronutrient. Thus no specific micronutrient deficiency was identified. Instead, generally poor nutrition was the major dietary predictor of risk and may partially explain the susceptibility of urban black men to esophageal cancer.

Adult Psychiatric Status of Black Schoolboys

A study was made of the adult psychiatric status of 235 young black men of average or better intelligence who were urban-born and urban-educated. The frequency of psychiatric disorders and the childhood variables foreshadowing those disorders are compared with findings from an earlier study of white child-guidance-clinic patients and normal white controls reared in the same city. Despite discrimination, young urban black men apparently differ little from whites in rates of psychiatric disorders. Among the three childhood variables investigated, the child's own antisocial behavior was a more powerful predictor of adult psychiatric status than was either his family's social status or his father's history of antisocial behavior. This same result had been noted for whites. All three childhood predictors were positively associated with the diagnosis of antisocial personality in adult life.