Race, Socioeconomic Position, and Physical Health: A Descriptive Analysis

A substantial and long-standing body of research supports the widely held conclusion that socioeconomic position (SEP) is a primary determinant of physical health risk. However, supporting evidence derives almost entirely from studies of dominantly white populations, and more recent research suggests that this relationship may vary across race-ethnicity. This article considers the extent to which such evidence applies to African Americans. It does so by examining the within-race relationships between SEP and physical health utilizing alternative research definitions of health and a nearly exhaustive array of measures of SEP. The results offer minimal support for SEP as a fundamental cause of disease among African Americans. They do not challenge the widely held view that health differences are rooted in the fundamental conditions of social context and experience. Rather, they indicate that these conditions tend to be defined more by being black than by being of lower SEP.