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Inequality research in the US typically uses Whites as a reference group for measuring racial disparities in health, with little attention paid to diversity among Whites. Immigration has led to greater heterogeneity in the ethnic origins of Whites—heterogeneity that may be hidden by the aggregate category. I examine this possibility empirically, drawing on multiple nationally-representative data sources to disaggregate Whites by nativity status and global region of birth (Europe, Middle East, and Former Soviet Union). The analysis first provides a demographic portrait of US Whites and then examines differences in physical health among White subgroups. The results find that foreign-born Whites do not have a health advantage over US-born Whites, which runs counter to the healthy immigrant effect found among other US racial groups. Among the foreign-born, immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) are particularly disadvantaged, reporting worse self-rated health and higher rates of hypertension than US- and European-born Whites. Immigrants from the Middle East also report poorer self-rated health than US-born Whites but have significantly lower odds of hypertension. European immigrants are the only group in this study who report better health than US-born Whites. These findings highlight considerable interethnic variation in health among Whites that is masked by the aggregate category. In addition to obscuring the needs of vulnerable subgroups, the aggregate White category may also produce biased or misleading estimates of inequality between Whites and other US racial/ethnic populations.
Jen’nan Ghazal Read is the Sally Dalton Robinson Distinguished Professor and Chair of Sociology at Duke University. She is a Carnegie Scholar whose expertise lies in the assimilation experiences of Arabs and Muslims in the United States and on the social determinants of U.S. health disparities. Her most recent work focuses on disaggregating ethnic groups classified as “white” and examining social mobility outcomes when groups such as Arab Americans and eastern Europeans are isolated from the generic “white” category. She has published widely on these topics, including a book and numerous peer-review journal articles.
