Sociodemographic Differences in Humility: The Role of Social Relations

The present research builds upon recent scientific developments in the field of social relations and ongoing advances in the study of humility. We examine whether gender, education, and racial/ethnic group are associated with humility as well as how social relations mediate the association between these sociodemographic variables and humility across the life course. Data are from the Detroit Community Study and were collected via a telephone survey focused on three groups prominent in the metro-Detroit area: Arab Americans, African Americans, and Non-Hispanic White Americans (N=907). Findings indicate that racial/ethnic group membership is associated with humility. Arab Americans and African Americans report greater humility than Whites. Further, social relations partially mediate this association, but only among Arab Americans. Arab Americans report a higher proportion of family than White Americans, which are associated with greater humility. Examination of whether these links depend on age indicates that the partial mediating role of social relations on the link between race/ethnicity and humility is replicated among older, but not younger adults. Findings are discussed within a developmental science perspective to consider the relational aspects of the individual and context over the life course.