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Author: Brown, Tyson H.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Brown, Tyson H.
Divergent Pathways: Racial/Ethnic Inequalities in Wealth And Health Trajectories
Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Discrimination; Ethnic Differences; Health, Mental/Psychological; Life Course; Racial Differences; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Extensive empirical evidence documents racial/ethnic disparities in both wealth and health: compared to Whites, Hispanics and Blacks have considerably less wealth and worse health. However, it remains unclear why racial/ethnic inequalities in wealth and health emerge, and whether these inequalities decrease, remain stable, or increase with age. This dissertation aims to fill these gaps in the literature by drawing on life course perspectives and methods to investigate racial/ethnic differences in wealth and health trajectories (i.e., long-term patterns of intra-individual change and stability in wealth and health with age) and how social disadvantage contributes to racial/ethnic wealth and health disparities.

The first empirical chapter utilizes panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY), a nationally representative survey, and growth curve models to examine racial/ethnic differences in wealth trajectories between ages 21 and 45. Findings reveal that relatively small wealth gaps between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics exist in their early 20s, but these initial inequalities are magnified with age. In the second substantive chapter, data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative, longitudinal dataset is used to examine whether racial/ethnic wealth gaps narrow, remain stable, or widen between during the years leading up to retirement (ages 51 and 73). Results show that Whites experience more rapid rates of wealth accumulation than their minority counterparts during middle and later life, resulting in accelerating wealth disparities with age, consistent with a process of cumulative disadvantage. At age 73, the average White household has a net worth of approximately $122,000, whereas both Hispanic and Black household have less than $5,000. Substantial racial/ethnic disparities in wealth trajectories persist after controlling for group differences in life course capital suggesting that other factors such as racial/ethnic differences in portfolio composition, financial transfers, and exposure to discrimination may contribute to wealth disparities. The third substantive chapter uses HRS data to examine racial/ethnic differences in health trajectories. Results indicate that there are dramatic racial/ethnic disparities in both the levels and rates of change in health. Overall, findings from this study show that racial/ethnic inequalities result in divergent aging experiences for Black, Hispanic, and White Americans.

Bibliography Citation
Brown, Tyson H. Divergent Pathways: Racial/Ethnic Inequalities in Wealth And Health Trajectories. Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008.
2. Frazier, Cleothia G.
Brown, Tyson H.
How Social Roles Affect Sleep Health during Midlife
Journal of Health and Social Behavior published online (28 April 2023): DOI: 10.1177/00221465231167838.
Also: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00221465231167838
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Sleep; Social Roles

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study draws on role theory and the life course perspective to examine how sleep health (duration, quality, and latency) is shaped by social role accumulation (number of roles), role repertoires (role combinations), and role contexts among middle-aged adults. We also examine how the relationships between social roles and sleep health are gendered. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort (N = 7,628). Results show that role accumulation is associated with less sleep and decreased insomnia symptoms, and that role repertoires also impact sleep (e.g., parenthood leads to diminished sleep quantity and quality). There is also evidence that contextual factors related to employment history, marital quality, and parenthood affect sleep health. Furthermore, results reveal that several of the relationships between social roles and sleep are gendered. Taken together, findings demonstrate the utility of examining links between multiple dimensions of social roles and sleep health.
Bibliography Citation
Frazier, Cleothia G. and Tyson H. Brown. "How Social Roles Affect Sleep Health during Midlife." Journal of Health and Social Behavior published online (28 April 2023): DOI: 10.1177/00221465231167838.