Racial Disparities in Mortality Among Middle-Aged and Older Men: Does Marriage Matter?

TitleRacial Disparities in Mortality Among Middle-Aged and Older Men: Does Marriage Matter?
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsSu, D, Stimpson, JP, Wilson, FA
JournalAmerican Journal of Men's Health
Volume9
Issue4
Pagination289-300
KeywordsAdult children, Demographics, Health Conditions and Status, Women and Minorities
Abstract

Based on longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, this study assesses the importance of marital status in explaining racial disparities in all-cause mortality during an 18-year follow-up among White and African American men aged 51 to 61 years in 1992. Being married was associated with significant advantages in household income, health behaviors, and self-rated health. These advantages associated with marriage at baseline also got translated into better survival chance for married men during the 1992-2010 follow-up. Both marital selection and marital protection were relevant in explaining the mortality advantages associated with marriage. After adjusting for the effect of selected variables on premarital socioeconomic status and health, about 28 of the mortality gap between White and African American men in the Health and Retirement Study can be explained by the relatively low rates of marriage among African American men. Addressing the historically low rates of marriage among African Americans and their contributing factors becomes important for reducing racial disparities in men s mortality.

URLhttp://jmh.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/06/24/1557988314540199.abstract
DOI10.1177/1557988314540199
Endnote Keywords

racial disparities/mortality/marriage/health Behavior/Self assessed health/African American

Endnote ID

999999

Citation Key8255