Marital Status and Physical Health: Racial Differences

Abstract

Background and aims: As suggested by the Minorities' Diminished Return Theory, the association<br />between socioeconomic status and health is weaker for racial and ethnic minorities compared to<br />Whites. The current study compared Blacks and Whites in terms of the association between marital<br />status and physical health.<br />Methods: The State of the State Survey (SOSS) included 881 adults (92 Blacks and 782 Whites)<br />generalizable to the state of Michigan, the United States. The marital status and self-rated physical health<br />(SRPH), which was measured using a single item, were considered as independent and dependent<br />variables, respectively. In addition, age, gender, education, and employment were covariates and race/<br />ethnicity was regarded as the moderating factor. Finally, logistic regression was used for data analysis.<br />Results: Based on the results, being married was associated with better SRPH, which is the net<br />considered by all confounders. A significant interaction was found between race and marital status on<br />SRPH, suggesting a larger association for Blacks compared to Whites. In race stratified models, marital<br />status was related to better SRPH for Whites and Blacks, but the magnitude of this link was larger for<br />Blacks compared to Whites.<br />Conclusion: Overall, marital status was differently linked to SRPM for Whites and Blacks. Accordingly,<br />policymakers should be cautious while not assuming that diverse racial and ethnic groups with similar<br />economic resources have similar health status.