Tony N . Brown
Rice University, Sociology, Faculty Member
- I am a race and racism scholar, trained as a sociologist.edit
This study examines race socialization, defined as the process whereby individuals learn about the meaning and significance of race and racism. With data from the 2001–2004 National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A),... more
This study examines race socialization, defined as the process whereby individuals learn about the meaning and significance of race and racism. With data from the 2001–2004 National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A), we analyze responses to the Comprehensive Race Socialization Inventory (CRSI) among 1,170 African American and Caribbean Black adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years. The CRSI captures sources, frequency, content of messages, and prevalence of the most useful message, among other components (e.g., onset and recency, anticipatory socialization, and socializing behaviors). We find 90% of respondents report someone talked with them about what being Black means. In addition, most respondents report receiving messages from all four sources specified in the CRSI (i.e., parents, relatives, friends, and other adults). We find little evidence to suggest sources differ by sex, age, ethnicity, or U.S. region. The question assessing the most useful mes...
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Research Interests: Health Psychology, Health Sciences, Public Health, Prevention Science, Adolescent, and 15 moreMedicine, Prevention, Humans, High School, Female, Male, Data Collection, Public health systems and services research, Protective and Risk Factors, Health surveys, Alcohol Use, Adolescent Behavior, Monitoring the Future, Cohort Studies, and Risk and Protective Factors
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This study analyzes five publicly posted videos wherein Asians experience interpersonal discrimination because of COVID-19. We think social scientists ignore how videos provide data for investigating interpersonal discrimination. We... more
This study analyzes five publicly posted videos wherein Asians experience interpersonal discrimination because of COVID-19. We think social scientists ignore how videos provide data for investigating interpersonal discrimination. We characterize the videos according to multiple features including context, characteristics, and responses of individuals involved, type of threat or mistreatment, and level of psychological and physical harm. We then summarize features across the videos. Among other things, analyses uncover implicit, explicit, and historically specific anti-Asian sentiment alongside evidence perpetrators are men and bystanders do not intervene typically. The Discussion contrasts Asians’ experiences of interpersonal discrimination because of COVID-19 against the interpersonal and institutional discrimination faced by American Indians, blacks, and Hispanics in the United States. That contrast brings Asians’ positionality into sharp relief.
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This article investigates the influence of sociodemographic factors on the choice of racial labels among adult Black Americans. Through three surveys we analyzed the preference for Colored, Negro, Black, Afro-American, or African... more
This article investigates the influence of sociodemographic factors on the choice of racial labels among adult Black Americans. Through three surveys we analyzed the preference for Colored, Negro, Black, Afro-American, or African American: the 1971 and 1992 Detroit Area Studies and the 1979–1980 National Survey of Black Americans. No label was universally accepted nor was any determinant consistently significant. Age
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Includes descriptive metadata provided by producer in MP3 file: "Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Podcast - Methods for Handling and Recovering Missing Data in Social Surveys"
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Objectives: To build upon work addressing the physical health consequences of familial incarceration. Specifically, this study extends findings from a recent study authored by Lee and colleagues (2014) who report that only women... more
Objectives: To build upon work addressing the physical health consequences of familial incarceration. Specifically, this study extends findings from a recent study authored by Lee and colleagues (2014) who report that only women experience poor physical health outcomes as a function of familial incarceration. Methods: We re-analyze their data (i.e., the National Survey of American Life, n=6082), focusing exclusively on native-born black men (n=1139)—the demographic group that bears the direct impact of mass incarceration. The outcome is obesity and principal predictors are familial and former incarceration, and their statistical interaction. Results: Familial incarceration appears an unimportant predictor (consistent with Lee et al. 2014), whereas former incarceration associates with a lower risk of obesity. However, former incarceration magnifies the association between familial incarceration and obesity, such that native-born black men experiencing both are more likely to be obese...
Mental health and mental disorder represent two different areas of theory, research, and policy implications, reflecting our tendency to dichotomize healthy and sick, normal and abnormal, and sane and insane. David Mechanic (2006) has... more
Mental health and mental disorder represent two different areas of theory, research, and policy implications, reflecting our tendency to dichotomize healthy and sick, normal and abnormal, and sane and insane. David Mechanic (2006) has argued that the term “mental health” has no clear or consistent meaning, and in the sociological literature, this argument is generally true. Mental health is not merely the absence of disease or disorder; it involves self-esteem, mastery, and the ability to maintain meaningful relationships with others. The concept of mental health is better developed in the psychology literature, and Carol Ryff has provided an exceptional account of “happiness” that draws on the theories of Maslow, Rogers, Jung, and Allport to develop a multidimensional construct of psychological wellbeing (Ryff, 1989). Although most of us fall short of achieving optimal well-being or happiness, those who experience mental health problems or psychological distress have been the focus...
Objective The current study uses insights from the stress process model and role theory to examine the relationship between familial incarceration, three key social roles—spouse, parent, and employee—and African American women's... more
Objective The current study uses insights from the stress process model and role theory to examine the relationship between familial incarceration, three key social roles—spouse, parent, and employee—and African American women's mental health. Background Research documents the spillover effects of mass incarceration on the families of those incarcerated. Approximately half of black women have at least one family member currently incarcerated; yet the potential psychological costs of familial incarceration among black women remains under‐investigated, particularly among those who are not parents. Method Utilizing the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative sample of never‐incarcerated African American women (N = 1,961), this study used regression to examine the association of mental health (measured by psychological distress and depressive symptomatology), familial incarceration, and combinations of social roles. Results Familial incarceration was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and psychological distress. Women that were employed only typically had improved psychological adjustment compared to other role combinations; yet, employment did not mute the mental health costs of familial incarceration. Conclusion African American women disproportionately experience the incarceration of family members, and the findings demonstrate that this experience is detrimental to mental health. Though social roles variably provide social, psychological, and economic resources to cope with familial incarceration, results show that the mental health costs of incarceration are generally consistent across role combinations. The expansive criminal justice system holds large implications for the well‐being of populations at the intersection of race, gender, and social roles.
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This study addressed whether black nationalist tendencies explain why some blacks in 1980 perceived that the civil rights movement and black elected officials failed to improve the black community’s standing, including their own life... more
This study addressed whether black nationalist tendencies explain why some blacks in 1980 perceived that the civil rights movement and black elected officials failed to improve the black community’s standing, including their own life chances. Those holding positions consistent with black nationalism argue, among other things, that racial integration, political participation, and alignment with white interests could not ultimately produce racial parity. Instead, they support (cultural, social, economic, and political) separatism, constant vigilance, and community uplift as tactics for engineering racial parity. Using data from a nationally representative survey of the black population collected 35 years ago, the authors measured black nationalist tendencies using six indicators: (1) agreement that blacks should vote for black candidates, (2) agreement that blacks should shop in black-owned stores, (3) agreement that black men should not date white women, (4) support for forming a bla...
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The present study extends previous work on distress that arises from discrepancy between self and interviewer racial identifications. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) data, we examine mental... more
The present study extends previous work on distress that arises from discrepancy between self and interviewer racial identifications. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) data, we examine mental health consequences of inconsistency over time within expressed (self) and observed (interviewer) racial identifications among American Indians. Given that phenotype signals race, we also contribute to prior research by examining whether skin color moderates inconsistency’s mental health consequences. Analyses show that observed racial inconsistency increased American Indians’ depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. That is, when interviewers labeled a respondent “American Indian” at one wave of data but not another, there were deleterious implications for mental health status. In addition, an interaction between observed inconsistency and skin color demonstrated that observed inconsistency tended to be harmful when respondents were observed as ...
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Racial apathy is a socially desirable and contemporary form of white racial prejudice that resonates with color-blind ideologies. Survey researchers assert it indicates whether whites do not care about racial equality. Deviating from... more
Racial apathy is a socially desirable and contemporary form of white racial prejudice that resonates with color-blind ideologies. Survey researchers assert it indicates whether whites do not care about racial equality. Deviating from prior studies, we investigate racial apathy among black teenagers. Specifically, we examine racial apathy’s prevalence and correlates, and associations with emotional well-being and alcohol use. Analyzing data from the 2003 National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR, n = 3290), we find one in four black teenagers does not care about racial equality. In terms of correlates, we find daily importance of faith links negatively with racial apathy. Low grades and school difficulties directly predict racial apathy among black teenagers. Living in the West, compared to other regions, associates with larger odds of expressing racial apathy. Finally, black teenagers’ expressions of racial apathy do not predict their emotional well-being or alcohol use.
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This study examines the mental health significance of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election for black adults. His election was a milestone moment. Hence, we expect black adults would experience improved mental health after the first... more
This study examines the mental health significance of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election for black adults. His election was a milestone moment. Hence, we expect black adults would experience improved mental health after the first self-identified black person wins election to the most powerful position in the United States. Using nationally representative survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), we address this expectation by predicting poor mental health days that black adults report preelection and postelection. We find no overall difference in poor mental health days between the time periods. However, a statistical interaction between gender and time period demonstrates black men report 1.01 fewer poor mental health days after the election, whereas black women report .45 more poor mental health days after the election.
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How social and legal climate influence LGB health is an under-studied topic. In response, this study examines whether the lesbian/gay/bisexual (LGB) climate index and presence of anti-discrimination law show population health significance... more
How social and legal climate influence LGB health is an under-studied topic. In response, this study examines whether the lesbian/gay/bisexual (LGB) climate index and presence of anti-discrimination law show population health significance for U.S. sexual minorities. The LGB climate index uses survey data collected between 2012 and 2013 to gauge states' support of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, whereas anti-discrimination law captures any state-level law that makes it illegal to discriminate because of sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations. We merge these two contextual measures with 2011-2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) aggregated, individual-level survey data, from which we generate three measures of state-level rates: excellent self-rated health, routine health care utilization, and health insurance among self-identified lesbian/gay and bisexual adults. We find that the LGB climate index associates positively with ...
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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... more
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.
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Kidney disease is one of the most striking examples of health disparities in American public health. Disparities in the prevalence and progression of kidney disease are generally thought to be a function of group differences in the... more
Kidney disease is one of the most striking examples of health disparities in American public health. Disparities in the prevalence and progression of kidney disease are generally thought to be a function of group differences in the prevalence of kidney disease risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. However, the presence of these comorbidities does not completely explain the elevated rate of progression from chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage renal disease among high-risk populations such as African Americans. We believe that the social environment is an important element in the pathway from CKD risk factors to CKD and end-stage renal disease. This review of the literature draws heavily from social science and social epidemiology to present a conceptual frame specifying how social, economic, and psychosocial factors interact to affect the risks for and the progression of kidney disease.
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The stress process model predicts that current incarceration of a family member should damage the health status of the inmate's relatives. We address this prediction with data from the National Survey of American Life, focusing... more
The stress process model predicts that current incarceration of a family member should damage the health status of the inmate's relatives. We address this prediction with data from the National Survey of American Life, focusing exclusively on African American men (n = 1,168). In survey-adjusted generalized linear models, we find that familial incarceration increases psychological distress, but its effect attenuates ostensibly after controlling for other chronic strains. Familial incarceration remains statistically insignificant with the introduction of mastery and family emotional support and their respective interactions with familial incarceration. However, a statistical interaction between familial incarceration and former incarceration reveals that levels of psychological distress are significantly higher among never-incarcerated respondents whose family members are incarcerated but significantly lower among formerly incarcerated respondents whose family members are incarcer...
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ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The apparent links between race, gender, and hypertension have been widely recognized as scientists often use race or gender as independent variables in prevalence studies. As such, it has been difficult to determine... more
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The apparent links between race, gender, and hypertension have been widely recognized as scientists often use race or gender as independent variables in prevalence studies. As such, it has been difficult to determine whether environmental, psychosocial, behavioral, and health status measures are related to hypertension in the same way for all racial groups. This study examined the extent to which factors correlated with hypertension vary across four race-and gender-specific groups. METHODS: This study used surveillance data collected over two years (2001-2002) from individuals attending primary care clinics in Shelby County, Tennessee to estimate pooled and group-specific regression models. The primary dependent variable was a self-report measure of hypertension drawn from a survey item asking respondents if they had ever been diagnosed with high blood pressure. Independent variables included socioeconomic, psychosocial, health behavior, and health status measures generally thought to be associated with hypertension. RESULTS: The pooled analysis indicated that hypertension status was associated with a number of the demographic, health behavior, and health status factors. However, once race- and gender-specific models were estimated, the results showed that the factors associated with hypertension varied considerably for black men, white men, black women, and white women. The group-specific regression models revealed and disentangled important correlations not observed in the pooled model. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that addressing racial disparities in blood pressure-related outcomes requires health practitioners to modify prevention and treatment efforts to incorporate a broader array of factors inherent to specific racial and gender populations.
The intergroup contact hypothesis holds that proximate, cooperative interactions on an equalized basis between Blacks and Whites can minimize Whites' prejudice (Allport, 1954). This experiment investigated the effect of contact... more
The intergroup contact hypothesis holds that proximate, cooperative interactions on an equalized basis between Blacks and Whites can minimize Whites' prejudice (Allport, 1954). This experiment investigated the effect of contact between White and Black high school teammates on White student athletes' racial attitudes. Using the 1996 Social and Group Experiences (SAGE) survey (created by the authors and administered in the Fall of 1996) commissioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the results indicated a significant relationship between amount of contact with Black teammates in high school and racial policy support and affect, depending on the type of sport played. White student athletes playing team sports who had higher percentages of Blacks as high school team-mates expressed more policy support for and greater positive affect toward Blacks as a group than did their counterparts playing individual sports. The role of athletic experiences in changing racial ...
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This paper examined the relationships between the experiences and perceptions of racism and the physical and mental health status of African Americans. The study was based upon thirteen year (1979 to 1992), four wave, national panel data... more
This paper examined the relationships between the experiences and perceptions of racism and the physical and mental health status of African Americans. The study was based upon thirteen year (1979 to 1992), four wave, national panel data (n = 623) from the National Survey of Black Americans. Personal experiences of racism were found to have both adverse and salubrious immediate and cumulative effects on the physical and mental well-being of African Americans. In 1979-80, reports of poor treatment due to race were inversely related to subjective well-being and positively associated with the number of reported physical health problems. Reports of negative racial encounters over the 13-year period were weakly predictive of poor subjective well-being in 1992. A more general measure of racial beliefs, perceiving that whites want to keep blacks down, was found to be related to poorer physical health in 1979-80, better physical health in 1992, and predicted increased psychological distress...
Research Interests: Prejudice, Social Perception, Ethnicity, Humans, United States, and 13 moreFemale, Male, Regression Analysis, Health Status, African Americans, Aged, Middle Aged, Longitudinal Studies, Adult, Public health systems and services research, Analysis of Variance, Personal Satisfaction, and Socioeconomic Factors
Past research has not fully explained why black youth are less likely than white youth to use alcohol and other substances. One plausible yet underexamined explanation is the "religion hypothesis," which posits that black youth... more
Past research has not fully explained why black youth are less likely than white youth to use alcohol and other substances. One plausible yet underexamined explanation is the "religion hypothesis," which posits that black youth are more likely than white youth to abstain because they are more religious than white youth. The present study tested this hypothesis empirically. The study examined data from large, nationally representative samples of white and black 10th graders from the Monitoring the Future project. Relative to white students, black students are more likely to abstain from alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana and are more highly religious. Consistent with the "religiosity hypothesis," race differences in abstinence are substantially reduced when race differences in religiosity are controlled. Unexpectedly, however, highly religious white youth are more likely than highly religious black youth to abstain from alcohol and marijuana use. Although religion ...
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Part II The Social Context of Mental Health and Illness Tony N. Brown and Teresa L. Scheid Stress and Social Support ... of roles and statuses, scholars studying mental health and illness are prone to mischaracterize its etiology and... more
Part II The Social Context of Mental Health and Illness Tony N. Brown and Teresa L. Scheid Stress and Social Support ... of roles and statuses, scholars studying mental health and illness are prone to mischaracterize its etiology and subjective experience (Moodley, 2000; Rogler ...
Research Interests: Coping Strategies, Depression, Immigration, Culture, Life course, and 15 moreHealth, Beliefs, Ethnicity, Distress, Emotions, Fatalism, Age, Deviance, Inequality, Income, Etiology, Definition, Anomie, Buffer, and Compound
... With noted exceptions (see Essed 1991; Gomez and Trierweiler; Harrell 2000; McNeilly et al. 1996; Utsey and Ponterotto 1996), most survey studies have assumed that respondents bring an organic understanding of discrimination to the... more
... With noted exceptions (see Essed 1991; Gomez and Trierweiler; Harrell 2000; McNeilly et al. 1996; Utsey and Ponterotto 1996), most survey studies have assumed that respondents bring an organic understanding of discrimination to the interview situation. ...
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... 1967 book Black Power: The Politics of Liberation, the Black Power Movement itself, and the Black ... and believing that Whites were discriminatory would be related to emergent racial label choice in ... Protest ideology is a variable... more
... 1967 book Black Power: The Politics of Liberation, the Black Power Movement itself, and the Black ... and believing that Whites were discriminatory would be related to emergent racial label choice in ... Protest ideology is a variable that assesses militancy and political insurgency. ...
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Page 1. http://spq.sagepub.com/ Quarterly Social Psychology http://spq.sagepub. com/content/69/2/201 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/019027250606900205 2006 69: 201 Social Psychology ...
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Contrary to patterns in the public opinion literature, the authors predicted White and Black athletes would agree at similar levels that racial and ethnic discrimination is no longer a problem. Using survey data collected from 533... more
Contrary to patterns in the public opinion literature, the authors predicted White and Black athletes would agree at similar levels that racial and ethnic discrimination is no longer a problem. Using survey data collected from 533 intercollegiate student athletes as part of the 1996 Progress in College/Social and Group Experiences study, they found White and Black athletes did not differ significantly in their perceptions of discrimination. The authors investigated interrelationships among perceptions of discrimination and athletic and racial identity centrality, proposing that athletic identity dampens racial identity and perceptions of discrimination. They found Black student athletes strongly identified with athletics reported low levels of racial identity centrality. In contrast, White student athletes strongly identified with athletics reported high levels of racial identity centrality. Finally, among Black student athletes, high levels of athletic identity centrality were posi...
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Page 1. http://ebx.sagepub.com/ Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders http://ebx.sagepub.com/content/14/3/157 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/10634266060140030301 2006 14: 157 ...
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Research Interests: Psychology, Pediatrics, Communication, Health Communication, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and 11 moreHealth, Social status, Humans, Child, United States, Female, Male, Child Psychiatry, Attention Deficit Disorder, Communication and media Studies, and Public health systems and services research
Page 1. CHAPTER 9 Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in the Sociology of Mental Health TONY N. BROWN SHERRILL L. SELLERS KENDRICK T. BROWN JAMES S. JACKSON INTRODUCTION The growing racial and ethnic heterogeneity ...