I’M COMING UP ON THE ROUGH SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN: RACISM, RACIAL IDENTITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE HYPOTHESIS OF DIMINISHING RETURNS IN HEALTH DISPARITY

Applying the social justice theory of Powers and Faden, I consider the negative consequences of racism on levels of well-being and its essential elements and deliberate whether racism-induced insufficiencies contribute to cumulative disadvantage that, for Blacks, undermines the magnitude of health gains associated with increasing educational attainment. Referred to as the diminishing return hypothesis, evidence has suggested that increasing levels of educational attainment for minorities do not incur similar health returns as those noted in Whites. Using Powers and Faden’s concept of well-being, I speculate how racism may diminish not only levels of health but also personal security, reasoning, respect, attachment, and self-determination that form the bases for cumulative disadvantage. Although there is evidence linking racism to poor health outcomes, to date, the effects of racism on the remaining five essential dimensions of well-being have not been discussed. If racism mitigates the ‘capability and the freedom’ of Blacks to attain sufficient levels of well-being and its essential elements, the result is a pattern of insufficiencies that provide a foundation of disadvantages that undermines the potential health gains of increasing educational attainment.

Grantor dc:publisher

Wake Forest University

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Suarez, Edward Carlos

• diminishing return hypothesis

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/57426

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/57426